Giant billboards, print and television were regarded as the top tiers of marketing, the best money could buy. However, with the advent of the internet, and social media titans such as Google, Facebook and YouTube over the last decade, this has changed considerably. The consumers are more connected to the internet than ever, 40 million internet users in Vietnam, 30 million smartphone owners, and this is fast growing beating the Asia Pacific penetration rates. Citing wider reaching scope and far better cost effectiveness, slowly but inevitably, digital marketing has been taking over its traditional counterpart. And this requires advertising agencies to adapt, and evolve.
Such an agency is Happiness Saigon (www.happiness-saigon.com) – recently launching its creative connectivity agency vision on the 3rd of June with its 1-2-3 Connectivity seminar consisting of interactive sessions presented by co-founders Karen Corrigan, Geoffrey Hantson and Alan Cerutti.
Happiness Saigon is the new kid on the block in Vietnam’s agency landscape. Happiness focusses on thinking that over encompasses traditional (TV, print, billboards) and digital marketing. And as such develop communication that delivers happiness, as happiness is known to be an economic lever. Oi had an interview with Alan Cerutti – co-founder/CEO of Happiness Saigon to find out more, what this new kind of marketing agency is all about.
“Instead of advertising or pushing the image of particular brands in a singular way consumers, we create ways for brands to generate connections with their customers through a consumer journey centric approach connect,” Alan explains. “At Happiness Saigon we believe we no longer focus on the consumer, but on his behavior, and the multiple amount of connections the consumer has with multi-media touchpoints. He has evolved because of the digital era. Our job is still about finding strategies, and creative concepts that are relevant and will lever cognitive or emotional connections, but we need to think exponentially and translate this message in 3603 content along that consumer journey.”
“For the next few years Happiness is planning to prove its unique responsiveness to change, and it will be about re-inventing the category and even the business itself. Happiness says goodbye to the old era of advertising,” Alan says. “Both in the work and in the way we work. ‘Creativity’ is still remaining at the core. Because it’s creativity that will make sure brands will not only pay ‘Share of Voice’ but will also earn ‘Share of Choice.’”
Happiness is becoming a new kind of agency that works in a new kind of way. Where KPI’s and dashboards will be at the core of the whole working-process. With slow, fast and real-time content that can be adapted here and now if needed. With Co-Creative Management where the triangle client-agency-consumer will be in constant interaction to get the creative concept and the content first right and then great.
What Happiness Saigon does is a sophisticated weaving of digital tools, traditional marketing instruments and the language of human emotions to imprint a brand into the lives and experience of its audience. One recent example is its work for Coca-Cola Share a Coke, Share a feeling testifying that marketing requires a great deal of creativity as well as a deep understanding of the consumers.
The agency’s approach proved to be successful. Over the past year and a half, Happiness Saigon has garnered an impressive portfolio, having designed and carried out many successful campaigns for big clients such as Coca-Cola, NIVEA, Bosch, UNICEF, among others.
Moving ahead, Happiness Saigon looks forward to expand its name and base in the region as well as proving its unique responsiveness to changes. And it’s off to a great start. In June, Happiness Saigon won 14 shortlists and 2 Lions at the International Festival of Creativity Cannes Lions, proving to lead the industry by leading the way and showing that Vietnam can compete on the global scale when it comes to creativity too.
IMAGES BY NGOC TRAN & HAPPINESS
2 thoughts on ““Bai” Advertising Agency, “Xin Chao” Creative Connectivity Agency”
absolute an amazing digital marketing agency! i love how they put KPI’s and dashboards will be at the core of the whole working-process. thanks
Great read! I was amazed at how you can create such a unique strategy for developing the company. ‘Creativity’ is still remaining at the core.” It absolute right when digital marketing on the rapid way of changing all the time. Cheers