In marketing, business, and life in general, one of the most important skills one can have is curiosity to continuously learn. As creativity and empathy for consumers fuel some of the most memorable human-centric and meaningful marketing moments, it is vital to practice interacting with a world that can be so much larger than the one you touch every day.
Over winter break 24 undergraduate students had the opportunity to practice this interaction as they traveled to Vietnam for a marketing and cultural immersion trip. Before the trip, we met weekly to learn about the basics of marketing and Vietnamese culture and business, elevating our knowledge and curiosity about a country often simplified to one conflict in American education. Student presentations highlighted business and the best of Vietnamese food, music, fashion, economic growth, and more.
Then the immersion began! The flight touched down and we stepped foot in the beautiful city of Ho Chi Minh. We traveled to explore famous sites and traverse the city via water and land, led by local tour guides with authentic stories. Despite staying in the main business and tourist district, we got the opportunity to explore more local and residential neighborhoods, experiencing the contrast of what commerce, marketplaces, and marketing looked like in the two different parts of the city.
Through shared meals and many, many cups of Vietnamese coffee, we slowly got over jet lag to take on company visits and make the most of our first city. One of the most memorable ways to kick off our marketing experience in Vietnam was through consumer in-home interviews. As we learned in class, it is impossible to market to people you haven’t connected with, and by sitting down to share a conversation with locals we understood what ads, products, and marketing tactics stood out to them. In addition, a deeper understanding of how family values, friends, and holidays such as Tet, or the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, impact marketing. This allowed us to interpret how international companies can make marketing in Vietnam more authentic. Specifically, I had the opportunity to sit down with my group, our translator, and a fellow Gen Z university student consumer, to see how our marketing interests overlapped and differed.
Following consumer interviews, we visited Denstu Redder to learn about their agency and work with shoe brand Biti’s Hunter. We saw the process behind making Vietnam and culture a central part of their strategy, shifting from a celebrity and influencer strategy to putting locals first and capitalizing on Vietnamese pride.
Denstu showed us the agency side of marketing, yet we also got to see the supply chain and B2B marketing side at DKSH, learning about how the distribution of American brands differs in Vietnam Vs. America. Our last company visit in Ho Chi Minh was my personal favorite, we got to visit Nha Be Garment Co. and see how a public Vietnamese company ran its clothing manufacturing. The Vietnamese economy is growing at rapid rates, much attributed to the massive year-over-year growth in the clothing manufacturing industry. As someone who loves to sew and interact with fashion, it was astounding to see how brands such as Nike or Patagonia produced their products while understanding a broader conversation of sustainable clothing manufacturing.
One of the most memorable parts of our first stop was Vietnam winning the Asia Cup! The city was electric. We flooded the streets and joined the celebratory dances and cheers as thousands of motorbikes with Vietnam flags flew through the city. The joy and pride were unmatched and gave us such a warm welcome to the country.
Following Ho Chi Minh, we flew to Hanoi where we experienced a shift from a business capital to government capital. Upon arrival, we visited government and cultural attractions, noticing the differences between the South and North. In the evening we dined at the very spot where Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama shared a meal and prepared for the next morning to visit the Mavin Group, a food and animal feed business specializing in farm-to-table in Vietnam. Here we learned about supply chain and food marketing, but also international work in general and the social and cultural integration regarding working in new countries.
In Hanoi, we also saw the contrast between huge corporations such as Nha Be and smaller growing companies. We visited Pro-Sports, another clothing manufacturer specializing in sportswear. This contrast taught us about B2B marketing and how smaller companies can stand out as suppliers and highlight certain competitive advantages. In addition, we saw a micro-brewery, learning about how small food and beverage companies work to market themselves to restaurants and grow brand recognition.
On our final day, we got to experience an amazing reset for the new year. We visited Ninh Binh, a beautiful mountainous landscape where we got to boat, hike, bike, and take in the natural beauty of Vietnam. It was the picture-perfect way to end the trip and digest the amazing opportunity we had on the trip. For me, this final day was like a rejuvenation for the new year and heading into a new semester. It was absolutely magical, a way to momentarily free ourselves of the stress of school or jobs or whatever we had going on.
This trip taught us not only about marketing and observing popular brands, channels, and products abroad, but also reminded us about all the endless opportunities in global marketing and the endless fun and adventure new places hold. As students got to experience a new country and culture that inspired us to connect with the people there and their amazing culture, as well as connect and grow our relationships to last a lifetime. This trip was also not possible without our amazing professors and guides who joined us and organized the trip to make it the safest, most enjoyable, and most impactful marketing trip!
