For the best experience, open this PDF portfolio inAcrobat 9 or Adobe Reader 9, or later.

Get Adobe Reader Now!

i

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HOCHIMINH CITY

THE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

A STUDY OF TRUST FOR DOMESTIC BRANDS IN VIETNAM

By

Le Xuan Truc

A thesis submitted to the School of Business in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of

Bachelor of Business Administration

Hochiminh city, Vietnam

2008

ii

A STUDY OF TRUST FOR DOMESTIC BRANDS IN VIETNAM

APPROVED BY:

________________________________

Mr. Cheah Kuan Yean, Professor

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

________________________________

THESIS COMMITTEE

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank all those who have made this paper possible. I would

like to thank Mr Cheah Kuan Yean – my advisor, who has guided me throughout the

process of writing the thesis and made sure everything was on the right track. I am

also grateful to my mentor – Mr Do Cao Nguyen, who is also my Creative Director in

Cli2per Indochine Vietnam, who has given me basic knowledge, experiences and

helpful advices as an expert in the advertising industry. Additionally, special thanks to

my mom who has encouraged me during the exhausting making of this paper. For my

friends and colleagues, thank you all for participating in the interviews and focus

group to make this paper possible. Within the last 2 months, my co-workers from

Cli2per have also contributed with suggestions, thoughts, ideas and comments about

Brand Trust in Vietnam.

All the illustration, pictures and information in the paper come from a

variety of sources. Some come directly from my company’s database, some from my

interviews and focus group; some are based on the magazine, website; while others

are contributed from expert opinions in the field.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES ..........................................................................................................v

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... vi

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION. .................................................................................................1

II. LITERATURE REVIEW AND METHODOLOGY ............................................6

III. RESULTS ..........................................................................................................16

IV. DISCUSSION / IMPLEMENTATION .............................................................26

V. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ..................................................41

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................46

APPENDIX

v

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

1. Consumer Confident Index .....................................................................................2

2. Culture, Perception and Trust ..................................................................................3

3. Structure of Research ...............................................................................................5

4. Level of Trust ...........................................................................................................7

5. The Trust Equation ...................................................................................................8

6. Perceptual Process. .................................................................................................10

7. Risk-adversers and Risk-takers ..............................................................................15

8. Brand Switch Percentage .......................................................................................16

9. International vs. Domestic Brand Trust .................................................................16

10. Trust in Ads ..........................................................................................................17

11. Perceived Price and Trust.....................................................................................18

12. Trust and Product Categories ...............................................................................18

13. Perception of Trust towards Domestic Brand. .....................................................19

14. Sources of Trust ...................................................................................................20

15. Hofstede’s Cultural Dimension – Vietnam .........................................................23

16. Vietnamese Family...............................................................................................26

17. The Most Favourite Motobike of Vietnamese Women........................................28

18. Her - Female Vietnamese Consumers ................................................................28

19. ZAG - Advertising ...............................................................................................30

20. Original TVC Concept Illustration. .....................................................................31

21. Vietnam Ad Savvy. ..............................................................................................33

22. Kaila cleanser and two-way cake .........................................................................35

23. ZAG – Public Relation ........................................................................................38

24. X-Men Products and Banners ..............................................................................40

25. Brand Trust model (Experience) ..........................................................................43

26. Fish Swarm ..........................................................................................................44

vi

ABSTRACT

Trust is the core of this paper. This executive research summarizes the

many aspects on how is trust placed in the Vietnamese consumer relationship with

domestic brand. In the first phase, culture and perception are examined respectively

the interpretation of trust. Portrait of a typical Vietnamese consumer will be unveiled.

In the next phase, the trust relationship of domestic consumers and domestic brand is

analyzed in the manner of interpersonal relationship, which is then specified into

Individual trust and Collective trust. This starts from the initiation of the relationship,

which is acquaintance to friendship and maybe further in correspondence with the

perceptual process, i.e Selective Attention, Selective Distortion and Selective

Retention. The research attempts to yield a broader and more simplified base of

Vietnamese consumer trust toward domestic brands together with nuances of other

perspectives such as consumer collectivism, consumer ethnocentrism. The inferences

then are applied into the recommendation finale and opened to further area of

research. The research has found that the typical Vietnamese consumers are radically

imposed by the Culture surrounding them. Confusion has also shape the consumer

values toward trust. Vietnamese consumers have strong emotional linkage and highly

appreciate the interpersonal relationship. They are very risk-adverse, highly

influenced by the social groups such as friends, seniors and particularly family. In

general, most of them favor International Brand; only few prefer domestic brand. The

methods used to gather the above information are concurrent research methods.

Basically, this paper uses focus group, interview and secondary data to produce the

snapshot of what is happening on consumer’s mind. Due to the limitation of the

sampling, the results are for references only.

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In spite of not choosing a very specific topic like some other students, I

would like to have a chance to rationalize a paramount view of domestic consumers

for domestic brands.

1.1 Rationale

Losing confidence is no longer trusting in the ability to perform (BBC

report, 2008). Yet, consumers in general and in Vietnam particularly are having less

and less confidence i.e. more reserved in choosing a brand (Fig 1). It is maybe

because of the unstable conditions of the world economy e.g. the fluctuating and

increasing price of commodity, gold, gas etc. Another reason would be the more and

more competition in the marketplace; consumers have more choices, more attraction

to switch; or maybe the brand itself has failed to sustain. Thus, how can the brands

survive is mostly based on trust that consumers place in the brands. In the bestselling

book Brand Gap, the author Marty Neumeir (2003) stated ‗ The foundation of brand

is trust’. This is the common ground of branding. Trust is always the first goal. No

product, service or company will ever communicate value without first establishing

trust. Without trust, customers cannot assign value to you or what you are selling.

Great brands create a context of trust.

2

Figure 1: Consumer Confidence Index

Source: 2008 Calendar Charting, Cimigo, pg 3, viewed 8 April 2008, Cimigo Vietnam database

Why domestic? When I research on the famous brands in the world,

Japan, the US are among the countries which has successfully build a strong tight

domestic brands with their domestic consumer as well as worldwide. On the other

hands, when looking from a broader view of Vietnam market, the larger share (both

mind share and heart share) has been overtaken by international brands. Those brands

such as Sony, Honda, Coca Cola, Microsoft can easily be mentioned as Top of Mind

for most of our domestic consumers. The results in my survey shows only 23% of the

respondents give trust to domestic brands ( see Chapter III: Results). Critically, this

lies the urge of revitalizing the current domestic brands as it is supposed to be our

strength when competing with international brands.

Why culture and perception? Culture reserves the deepest root into

consumer minds, which is then the background for consumer perceptions. In the end,

these are bringing up the foundation for which we call trust. One wants to analyze the

consumer trust in brands, must revise back into its deepest root, which is perception

fostered by culture.

3

Figure 2 : Culture, Perception and Trust

1.2 Problem statement

Throughout the above states issue as in brand trust, the main problem is

‘how do perception and culture affect trust for domestic brands in Vietnam?’

Key words: domestic brands, trust, Vietnam, culture and perception.

1.3 Objectives

The primary purpose of this research is to develop a better understanding

of the power culture and perception of consumer psychology in building brand trust .

On the way to explore and implement the concept, this paper will unveil the

conviction of strategic manipulation of the domestic consumers‘ perception with the

culture impact. Then, create a trustworthy brand which will win the domestic

consumers‘ heart and mind in the current tough competition. Yet, the ambitious finale

is to gain the strength of domestic brands toward the international level.

4

1.4 Scope

In the scope of this paper, I would like to use both the consumer and the

advertiser perspectives to denote the problems for our domestic brands in the

domestic market, analysis and personal recommendations. Mr Nguyen Cao Do

(Executive Creative Director of Clipper Indochine Vietnam), one of the top Creative

Directors in the industry stated ‗we only build up the brand if the product is really

good‘. This is the motto in advertisement ethics as well as the nurtured

trustworthiness for both the client brands and the advertising agency itself. Therefore,

how the company should build up its organizational structure or problem about

operation of the companies will not be counted within this thesis.

1.5 Limitation

As this is an extract of brand analysis, some of the brands are my

company‘s clients, confidentiality encompasses limited amount of information to be

listed. The information is private, not public – because they are paid. Besides, the few

large market researchers are TNS, Cimigo etc., also find their job in investigating the

domestic consumers very valuable, but still so difficult. Mr. Richard Burrage,

Regional Director of Cimigo, formerly Consumer Insights states ‗Vietnam is the new

and just still young, not transparent enough’. Despite those facts, I try my best to

make the most out of available sources of information and my observation during the

time working in this Creative Industry, also with the help of some expert opinions in

the field. Thanks to the advance of the internet, I am able to create the online survey

which allows me to reach further into different locations; however, most of

respondents are limited to the urban consumers in Hochiminh city.

1.6 Structure of Research

This research summarizes the many aspects of culture and perception

which affect the consumers‘ values on brand trust. In the 1st phase, this paper will

denote the many definitions and specification of trust, perception and culture in

corresponding of individual consumers. Explore what are the direct and indirect major

5

factors which affect consumer behaviors nowadays. The next phase will reveal the

relations of the above factors to domestics brand respectively to trust values in

Vietnam. Then, brand trust is placed in the interpersonal relationship corresponding

with individual trust and collective trust. At the end of the journey, we will unveil the

recommendations of building and sustaining trust for our domestic brands.

Figure 3: Structure of Research

6

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

This 1st part of the chapter will generally review some previous studies

related to the topic as well as providing critical background and foundation for further

analysis. Furthermore, I also critically discuss some of definitions and concepts to

reveal their connection and adapt them to brand trust.

2.1 Trust

According to McShane S. and Travaglione T. (2003), trust is positive

expectations about other party‘s intentions and action towards us in risky situation.

Trust can be categorized into 3 types i.e. Calculus-based trust, knowledge-based trust

and identification-based trust. ; each denotes different levels and forms of relationship

(Fig.4)

Calculus-based trust -the 1st level of trust is the expectation of behavior

consistency based on deterrent. Because there is punishment if one party fails to keep

the promise, this type of trust will break down when it is failed to be administered. In

this case, trust is built on threat of punishment and obviously cannot sustain the

relationship in the long term. Logically connected, calculus-based trust in brand is the

minimum level; legislation relationships such as law, regulation to protect consumers

and brands are the only linkage between consumer and brand. For the above reason

we will not focus on this type of trust in this paper.

Knowledge-based trust is more stable than calculus-based; it is grounded

on predictability and developed overtime through meaningful communication and

experience with other party. Communication here means advertising. Critically

7

thinking, companies are leveraging this into educate consumers of their product.

Companies are leveraging advertorials to educate consumer about their product and

gain trust. This will be discussed more deeply later on.

The 3rd

type of trust is identification-based, grounded on mutual

understanding and emotional bond between consumers. The interesting point is this

identification occurs when one other party thinks like, feel like and response like other

party. This is the most robust /highest level of trust also in brand. Additionally, since

Individual consumer identifies with brand, he/ she is more likely to forgive

transgression. Consumers are reluctant to acknowledge a violation of this high level

of trust because it strikes at the heart of consumer self-image. As this type of trust is

very powerful, we will examine how to integrate this trust into brand campaign for

our domestic product later on in the next chapter.

Figure 4: Level of Trust.

Source: Adapted from McShane S. and Travaglione T. (2003) and Green H. (2007)

8

2.1.1 Variables of Trust

Upon researching, I have found the many facets and elements of Trust, one

of the simplest understandable and applicable to brand is the Trust Equation. Charles

H. Green from the Trusted Advisor Associates is a speaker and executive educator on

trust-based relationships and Trust-based Selling in complex businesses. He is author

of Trust-based Selling (McGraw-Hill, 2005). Green H. (2007) denotes Trust as ‗a bi-

lateral relationship—one trusts, and the other is the trusted. The trust equation is a

model for the second—the one who would be trusted.‘ Here is the deeper explanation

of the equation.

Figure 5: The Trust Equation.

Source: Shaw, Robert B. (1997),Trust in the Balance, Building Successful Organizations on Results, Integrity, and

Concern, Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco- USA, cited in Natalie A. Ryan, In Brand We Trust ,2002,

Göteborg University Publication, Sweden, Printed by Elanders Novum, pg 29

Credibility is the objective and subjective components of the believability

of a source or information (Wikipedia, 2008). It is the message about how the brand

promises with the consumers in the case of brand trust. Thus, it is about the

expectation that consumers place in the brand for what it says it is i.e. ‗Trust me, my

brand is good’. Critically thinking, credibility is account for the 2nd level of Trust,

which is knowledge-based trust, since it is built on conveying of meaningful and

useful information i.e. communication.

Intimacy refers to the safety or security that we feel when entrusting

someone with something (Green H., 2007). ‗Intimacy is both the ability and the

choice to be close, loving, and vulnerable. Intimacy requires empathy- the ability to

stand in other’s shoe…The main forms of intimacy are emotional intimacy and

physical intimacy (Wikipedia, 2008). In branding, intimacy can also be identified as

9

knowing a brand in depth because of the many experiences consumers have shared

with the brand. Personally thinking, emotional intimacy is the emotional

understanding and bonding which has been mentioned in the Identification-based

Trust.

Increasing the value of the factors in the numerator increases the value of

trust. Increasing the value of the denominator—that is, risk—decreases the value of

trust. Risk is obviously controlling denominator in the equation. According to the

equation, the higher the level of risk is, the lower the level of trust and vice versa.

However, Kapferer J. (2003) charismatically indicates ‗brands reduce risk, and exist

as soon as there is perceived risk. Once the risk perceived by buyers disappears, the

brand no longer exists’. In other words, we can minimize risk but cannot eliminate it,

if so, there would not be brand and brand trust. How to reduce risk perception will be

analyzed in detail in the Discussion/ Implementation.

2.1.2. Experiences

‘The process by which an individual attributes a trust image to the brand

is based on his/her experience with that brand’ (Delgado-Ballester E. and Munuera-

Alema L.J, 2004). Direct experience comes from the evaluation of the trial, the usage

of a product/ service; Indirect experience sparkle from advertising and public relation.

Positive experience is importance because it indicates the brand consistency to fulfill

the brand promise to the consumers. Thus, positive experience associates with

certainty in bringing the consumer interests, benefit and yet reduces the risk

perceived.

2.2 Perception

According to Well et al. (2006), perception is defined as process by which

an individual selects, organizes and interprets stimuli (information) into a meaningful

and coherent picture of the world. In other words, behavior is driven by perception.

Within the same conditions, the same stimuli, two persons can react very different as

how each one select, organize the information is a very individual process. Kolter

10

(2003) divided the perceptual process into 3 sessions. These are all based on each

person‘s needs, values and expectation.

Selective Attention where individual absorbs information and screens out

information that he/she finds unrelated. Researchers have found that people are more

likely to notice the information related to their needs, or notice the stimuli that they

anticipate, or triggered by stimuli that are different from the usual i.e. something

extraordinary. Selective Distortion is the process of switching the information into

personal meanings and interprets information to fit the individual values and

expectation. Selective Retention means the remaining of the information which

matches individual‘s values and belief.

Figure 6: Perceptual Process.

Source: Adapted from Well et al. (2006)

As in relation with brand trust, each consumer perceives the brand

differently as his/her needs, expectation, and values are different to one another. As

trust is composed of expectation and influenced by personal values, many researchers

agree that trust can be established for brands based on individual‘s perception.

Shiffman and Kanuk (2004) pinpoint individuals perceive image of themselves, they

also have perceived image of brand based on who they are. Initially, consumer

absorbs the assumed-to-be-needed information about the brand before actually using

the products/ service of that brand as in Selective Attention. In Selective Distortion,

consumers have sets of values and expectation toward the brand. In other words, the

prejudice the consumer has for certain brand, which deeply reflects the trust of the

brand. (Buttle and Burton, 2002). For Selective Retention, consumers are likely to

recall the good point of about the products or brands they like and forget good points

mention about competing products or brands. Once the consumers trust the brand,

they have tendency to forgive about the pitfalls of which the brand encounter.

11

When the brand messages in all their glorious forms reach the people

standing in their way, the brand itself is starting to form. This happens in the

perception that is created in the heads of both intended customers and innocent

bystanders. It is as perceived by everyone who touches the brand in any way, whether

from a lifetime‘s experience or a brief third-hand mention from a passing stranger.

Perception does not come clean and pre-packaged. We take direct experience and

infer meaning by passing it through a set of highly-biased perceptual filters.

(Changing Mind, 2008)

Upshaw (1995) describes ‗brand is a package of trust and performance

which is strongly based on consumer’s perceived values for the brand’. 3 components

of consumer perceptions towards brands are Perceived quality, Perceived price and

Perceived risk. Consumers may perceive brand with a lot of promotions as cheap

brand, or sometimes brands with low price are considered of low quality. As the price

is higher, consumers expect the quality to be equivalent with the perceived price. In

other words, it is crucial that the marketers have built up the brand identity with match

the brand image (consumer perceived values) since it will determine the trust of the

consumer for that brand. Temporal et al.(2001) considers failing to pair the desired

consumer‘s perception with the actual consumer‘s perception means failure in

matching the brand identity with the brand image. The result will be losing trust in the

relationship between the consumer and the brand. Neumeier (2003) also indicated the

brand gap is the distance between what the company wants to be and customer

experience i.e. how people actually perceive it. Fortunately, communication can close

the gap between intended messages and perceived messages because it can set brand

expectations.

2.3. Culture

National cultures can be described according to the analysis of Geert

Hofstede. ‗Culture is the collective programming of the human mind that

distinguishes the members of one human group from those of another. Culture in this

sense is a system of collectively held values’ (Hofstede. G, 2007) We tend to have a

12

human instinct that 'deep inside' all people are the same - but they are not. Hofstede

defined a very common set of models for international cultures which is Hofstede‘s

cultural dimensions. From this, we can match the suitable media vehicles and

strategy to communicate and increase consumer trust.

Power Distance Index (PDI) describes the relationship between more

powerful and less powerful members of a group (Daniels D. J., et al., 2002.). Low

power distance societies highly regard equality and democracy, whereas high power

distance societies are those with high degree of inequality. One can observe the power

distance of a country based on the differences within countries social class, education

level and occupation, as well as the relationship one has with their family. (Hofstede,

1991)

Individualism (IDV) societies are those in which social ties between

individuals are relatively loose, which indicates the ‗I‘ is more important than the ‗we‘

(ITIM International, 2008). On the contrary, cultures that emphasize collectivism

show patterns of group or collective thinking and acting, and the interest of the group

comes before the interests of the individual. Moreover one can view individualism

and collectivism based on the way they were raised in their family, laws protecting

one in their working environment, and views on privacy. (Geert-hofstede.com, 2007).

Masculinity (MAS) denotes the stereotyped values of gender. Masculine

society is where achievement and competition are stressed, whilst feminine societies

respect relationship, intuition and quality of life (Geert-hofstede.com, 2007)

Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI) is the extent to which the members of a

culture feel threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. ‗Unknown situations are

novel, surprising, unstructured and different from usual. Uncertainty avoiding

cultures try to minimize the possibility of such situations by strict laws and rules,

safety and security measures…‘ (Bhardwaj A. et.al, 2007). The higher the UAI score,

the weaker the threat perception i.e. the lower the bear for risk of the members of that

country. On the contrary, the lower the UAI level is, the more the consumers are open

and allowable of risk for the brand. As Trust is combined by Risk and Expectation,

the low UAI dimensions reflex the noticeable ease to gain trust from the consumers.

13

Long-term orientation (LTO) values thrift, perseverance and absolute

truth whereas values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition,

fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. Both the positively and the

negatively rated values of this dimension are found in the teachings of Confucius, the

most influential Chinese philosopher who lived around 500 B.C.; however, the

dimension also applies to countries without a Confucian heritage (Geert-

hofstede.com, 2007). Previously mention, trust is found on regular contact and the

longer the communication is, the more trust consumer places on the brand. As for the

brand, the older the establishment is, the stronger the foundation of Trust for the

brand. It is noticed that consumers from long-term orientation countries have high

brand loyalty and trust.

14

METHODOLOGY

In this 2nd part of the chapter, the research method will be illustrated. How

the information/ data are gathered and analyzed given the results in the next chapter.

2.4 Research design

Trust is an inductive nature and a very intangible; therefore the study of it

must be of practical experience rather than of theory. Besides, I find it very difficult to

find information and data directly focused on domestic consumer trust since Vietnam

reserves a very young and new market. To my knowledge, there have not been any

researches particularly focus on Trust in Brand for domestic brands in Vietnam. For

the above reason, I choose the descriptive research design for this study. Cooper and

Schindler (1998) indicate descriptive studies try to discover the answers to the

questions who, what, when, where or how. In this type of research, researchers

attempt to describe or define a subject. This in case, the studied subject is Trust for

brand.

2.5 Research method

Basically, the paper is based on qualitative research methods. Primary

sources consist of focus group and online survey. Secondary data are collected from

internet sources plus book references, expert opinions and brainstorming. However,

due to the small sample size, field conditions, time and budget constraints; the results

are for reference only.

a. Secondary sources: Previously shown in the literature review, this paper

starts with the preceding studies related to the topic. Reference form books, magazine,

newspaper articles, websites are the base, which help identified the many factors and

aspect of trust for brand.

15

b. Interview: Upon searching for expert opinions, I have approach many

successors in the Creative Industry in Vietnam such as Mr Tran Hoang, CEO of

VietnamMarcom, representative of International Advertising Association in Vietnam,

Creative Director of Cli2per Indochine Vietnam, who is also my boss; plus some of

the owner of the current popular brands. Expert opinions are collected via personal

interviews, lectures and email responses. In addition to the personal interviews with

experts, the survey of 123 respondents was conducted to explore the level of personal

risk perception, brand loyalty, how consumers perceived price and quality towards

brand trust. Also, another purpose is to confirm the many sources which domestic

consumers will trust particularly. This survey also test some of the current famous

domestic brands on the market, and see how those brands are perceived as domestic

or international. To be eligible to all respondents, the survey was designed into 2

versions i.e. in both English and Vietnamese language. Additionally, focus group is

used to prevail more details to the study which the survey cannot fulfill. The

interviewees are asked with open-ended questions where they can respond back in

both facts and their own opinions. My focus group includes 10 respondents i.e. 5

females and 5 males. In order to optimize the objectiveness of this focus group,

interviewees are chosen not to be in the Advertising, Banking or Marketing related

fields. If I am not being trustworthy enough, the responds will fail to outcome the

desired results. Interviewees were gathered in Cli2per office with 1.5 hours of in

depth discussion about feelings and usage experience of domestic versus international

brands, of how Vietnamese culture has rooted the perception and affected the

consumer behavior toward domestic brands and what the expectations of Vietnam

domestic consumers of a trusted brand are. It is easily noticed that both the focus

group and the survey are managed with convenience sampling as for the basis of

availability. Furthermore, based on the results of the interview as well as focus group,

some new ideas have been brainstormed and supported by the applications of term

and concepts from sources of secondary data.

16

CHAPTER III

RESULTS

This part will specify the above previous studies in application to Vietnam.

Furthermore, it will articulate the findings of my survey and focus group. The

questions 1 in focus group and question 1, 3, 8 in interview questionare are adapted

from Interview Manual of Ryan A. N study of ‗In Brand We Trust‘ (2002). In

addition, Hofstede‘s Cultural Dimension also been listed to become the reasoning for

next chapter – discussion/implementation.

SELF-ADMINISTERED INTERVIEW

1. Are you a risk-adverser or risk taker? *

Figure 7: Risk-adversers and Risk-takers

17

2. Do you switch brands regularly? *

Figure 8: Brand Switch Percentage

Question 1, 2 were asked to know about risk perception level of consumer.

3. Do you trust Domestic or International Brand? *

Figure 9: International vs. Domestic Brand Trust Percentage

This question reveal whether current domestic consumers consumer ethnocentrism,

some people are likely to be receptive to foreign-made product while other are not

(Schiffman and Kanuk, 2004)

18

4. Please specify the brand you trust most (either Domestic or International)

Internationals brands such as Nokia (25% of the share), Honda, Sony,

Samsung rate the highest. Then come the popular domestic brands such as Vinamilk,

ACB, Diana, Xmen, Kaila…

5. In short, explain why you trust that brand *

Here I will list out the answers which have repeated for many times. 58%

of the respondents‘ answers are ‗My experience in using it’, ‘good quality, good

packaging’. Others said ‗I trust the brand because it has a long history of

establishment‘ or ‗my friends have used it’ or simply because ‘it is International’

Question 5, 6 indicate the most trusted brand from the majority in Vietnam. From

that, we can infer the factors and the way to gain our consumer trust.

6. Do you believe a good advertisement reflects a trustable brand? *

This denotes the effectiveness of advertising in brand trust

Figure 10: Trust in Ads

19

7. Do you believe if the price is higher, the product of that brand is more

trustworthy? (e.g. higher quality and values) *

Figure 11: Perceived Price and Trust

This indicated how domestic consumer perceive price so that we can infer the

suitable pricing strategy toward brand trust.

8. Would you trust international brand or domestic brand when it comes into

the following categories? *

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Grooming

Food&Drinks

Hi-techs

Banking

11,59

15,94

9,49

19,71

15,94

10,87

13,14

9,49

31,16

31,88

28,45

28,47

12,32

10,14

11,68

16,79

28,99

28,99

39,42

25,57

domestic moderately domestic neutral moderately int' international

Figure 12: Trust and Product Categories

20

Because trust level varies among different categories, I would like to know how is

the trustworthiness will be within each category particular from the perceptions of

Vietnamese consumers.

9. In less than 1 minute, select the brand which is considered domestic or

international *

Figure 13: Perception of Trust towards Domestic Brand

This question was asked to test the Vietnamese top-of-mind perception about some

of the favorable domestic brands.

21

10. Which source do you trust? (1 - 5 is from LEAST - MOST trusted)*

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

others

public media

seniors

f riends

family members

yourself

least trusted moderately Neutral much trusted most trusted

Figure 14: Sources of Trust

This question testifies the sources of trust particular to Vietnamese consumers.

From this, we can derive the best means of communication to our consumers.

22

FOCUS GROUP

1. What does TRUST mean to you? *

This question was asked to know consumer perception about trust. More

than half of the respondents say ‗I believe that he/she/it will not cheat me’. ‗Trust is

the foundation for my decision making’. Or when it comes to product, ‗it is the

confident to use the product’-which based on their past experience of using the

product. Others claim, Trust also means brand loyalty, even though the price may

increase, ‗I trust the brand, even when the price gets higher, I still use it’. ‗Trust is the

foundation for my decision making’. Almost all of them stated it would be very

difficult for them to trust a person/product/brand again, if the person/product/brand

fails their expectation.

2. How do you perceive a brand as an International brand? A Domestic Brand?

8/10 interviewees said they think the brands can be perceived as

international as for the brand name (Xmen), smooth and fine-tuned TVCs (ACB,

Kaila), professionalism, neat and nice packaging(Kaila, Xmen). 7/10 interviewees

claimed they consider the brand as domestic when it come to the Vietnamese brand

name, hard sell ads, cheap price, the quality was not up to their expectation.

3. How do you think about ACB?

10/10 interviewees know about ACB with the famous emotional TVCs –

The People’s Bank. They said they are very impressed as the 1st bank in Vietnam to

have such great TVC. 9/10 stated ‗ACB looks international and seems to be the 1st

class commercial bank in Vietnam‘. 9/10 heard and still remember about the rumor of

ACB 5 years ago, in which the managing director was claimed to disappear with all

the money. Even so, they have trusted ACB more as for they assume that ACB can

overcome such difficulties in the future once they have successfully get over it in the

past. 6/10 of them and their family members have also been using ACB. They found

23

ACB more trustable by time and by ACB expansions of network (more than 140 POS

nation-wide). As they use ACB, they know that ACB is a domestic bank.

4. Do you think Xmen is an International brand or a Domestic brand? Do you

trust the brand? Why?

8/10 claimed Xmen as an international Brand for its advertising is not a

Vietnamese, cutting-edge TVCs. 5/10 said it is managed by International Consumer

Products –‗it’s an international company, I assume’. One also mistook Xmen as a

product of Unilever. 7/10 stated they trusted the brand as they and their friends had

used it for quite sometimes. In addition, they also found the smell comfortable, which

made them feel like using perfume, good experience of the product and affordable

price, particularly because of the core message ‗The Real Man’, which makes them

feel more confident and manly to others.

5. Do you think Kaila is an International brand or a Domestic brand? Do you

trust the brand? Why?

6/10 perceived Kaila as an international brand, a Japanese originated

skincare product for teen. They said they had seen the advertisement on TV and

packaging which also consist of the Japanese language, besides Vietnamese and

English. They trust the brand because Japanese brand have been known as the best

quality skincare products. Some of their sisters or female friends have used it and find

the quality adequate with the very affordable price. Also, Kaila got the comfortable

smell/ fragrance compared to other products of a same kind.

24

HOFSTEDE’S CULTURAL MODEL FOR VIETNAM

Hofstede‘s model is the most effective tool to analyze Vietnam culture with respect to

consumer psychology of trust in Vietnam. The follows are the dimensions of

Hofstede‘s model for Vietnam culture

70

20

4050

80

PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO

Figure 15 : Hofstede‘s Cultural Dimension – Vietnam

Source: Adapted from Hofstede G., 2007, Hofstede‘s Cultural Dimension, viewed 20th April 2008,

http://www.geert-hofstede.com/geert_hofstede_resources.shtml

Distance Index (PDI) is 70/100, considered high Power Distance.

Individualism (IDV) is only 20/100. A ‗We‘ is prefered rather than an ‗I’

Masculinity (MAS) score of Vietnam is only 40/100 infer a feminine society.

Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI): According to Hofstede G. (2007), Vietnam with UAI

30/100 is the case. However, due to my own survey‘s results, I have found that most

of the Vietnamese consumers are risk-adverse. Through my interpretation and guts

feeling, personally thinking, Vietnam UAI may moderately around 50/100. Vietnam

25

embodies the openness to new ideas and culture diversity. This may explain why

international brands have not much difficulty when reaching the Vietnamese

consumers. However, at the same time, still very alert of the risk they may have to

bear.

Long-term orientation (LTO) values thrift, perseverance, long term and absolute

truth. Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan share the similar dimension of 80/100 LTO.

26

CHAPTER IV

DISCUSSION/ IMPLEMENTATION

You may have gone through hard time reading the entire long pages all

about theories. Now, I will make it more comprehensive and readable by the

personification of a brand as a living human. The relationship between consumers and

the brand now becomes the personal relationship (you-the consumer and the brand- a

particular person). Although this may not 100% accurate, still it can simplify the

complexity of the topic. As a reader, you may know how your guts feeling will be

when trusting a person. How would you trust a person?

But first of all, before discussing and implementing the trust relationship

between consumers and brand, one must explore how culture imposes on Vietnamese

consumers.

A typical Vietnamese consumer influenced by culture

In this section, the preceding findings will be summit to create a portrait of

a typical and average Vietnamese consumer. This may not be 100% precise, but it is

based on the majority, previous credited researches, expert opinion and my analysis

and interpretation.

According to TNS – ‗Women Emancipation Report‘, ‗Female consumers

will become more and more important; changing who advertisers target in the future‘

(Vietnam Consumer Future, 2007). In my opinion, the representative of Vietnamese

consumers should be a female.

27

Additionally, the Hofstede‘s Cultural Dimension also indicates the MAS

score of Vietnam as 40/100 infer a feminine society (Hofstede G., 2007). This leads to

the fact that she may place trust on relationships and emotional linkage. To her,

relationships such as families and friends are very important. She also somewhat

affected by the deep rooted Confusion, which has been a part of her senior family

members passed down to her generation. It is the behavioral system and ethics of

Vietnamese people which always emphasis on the obligation relationship of people

towards one another (Wikipedia Vietnam, 2008) such as husband and wife, parents

and children, brothers and sisters, friends. Confucianism in Vietnam values loyalty,

honor, and respect of elderly, seniority and sincerity.

Figure 16 : Vietnamese Family

Source: TNS, Vietnam Consumer Future Oct‘ 2007, TNS, pg 51, viewed 26 April 2008, Amcham,

http://www.amchamvietnam.com/download/904/L2Rvd25sb2FkLzkwNA

In corresponding with the above Confucianism, Vietnam society focus on

Collectivism as the IDV is only 20/100. This score even more convincing to the fact

that relationships to her are more valuable than the task to be done (Hofstede G.,

2007). This is where peer-to-peer, family pressure and in general, society account for

her trust in brand. Cohesively with the results on my survey, family is the most trusted

28

sources i.e. 90,52% from neutral to most trusted in family, then seniors 86,87% and

78,86% friends for friends.

With moderately of around 50/100 for UAI score, she embodies the

openness to new ideas and culture diversity. This may explain why international

brands have not much difficulty when reaching her. However, at the same time, she is

still very risked-adverse. This has been shown in my survey, where 67% of

respondents are risk-adverse.

Previously mention, trust is found on regular contact and the longer the

communication is, the more trust consumer places on the brand. As for the brand, the

older the establishment is, the stronger the foundation of Trust for the brand. It is

noticed that consumers from long-term orientation countries like Vietnam (80/100

LTO) have high brand loyalty and trust (Hofstede G., 2007). In Vietnam particularly,

some of the brands have this advantage of having the long history that cling to the

Vietnam consumers from the past till now. They share the changes in the lifestyle of

consumers for many decades. This leads to strong bond in relationship between brand

and consumers. Let‘s take Honda as an example. Vietnamese are so bonded with the

existence of Honda brand for many decades and it has become the generic term refers

to motorbike. When driving a motorbike, even though it is different brand, she – a

typical Vietnamese may call it a Honda instead. And of course, to represent Vietnam

consumer majority, she must young as 56% of Vietnam population are below 30 (CI

special report, 2007).

29

Figure 17: The Most Favourite Motobike of Vietnamese Women

Source: Viet Bao article - The Most Favourite Motobike of Vietnamese Women, 2007, Viet Bao, viewed 16th June

2008, http://www2.vietbao.vn/images/oto/viet_nam/61001369_07.jpg

Figure 18: Her – Female Vietnamese Consumers

Source: Various sources.

30

Brand Trust in the relationship with Vietnamese consumers

Initially, I would like to dissect trust into individual trust - and collective

trust. We shall initiate with the analysis of individual trust - a conceptualisation that

involves a single consumer‘s his/her own trusting behaviour (Olsson O., 2008).

Acquaintance

Now, it is time to let your imagination works! Imagine yourself as a

typical Vietnamese consumer (some of you are already one). Different trust levels

derive from different type of relationship. For many people, friendship is nothing

more than trust (Wikipedia - Friendship, 2008). From that, I critically apply friendship

into the relationship between brand and the consumers.

The 1st stage of a relationship is making acquaintance. ‗Acquaintance is a

person whom one knows but who is not a particularly close friend‘ (Merriam-Webster

dictionary, 2008). When meeting someone, the first impression is very important. Is

that person outlook for appearance catch your attention?!. If that one does not have

any distinctive characters to match with your needs, expectations, our values,

consciously or unconsciously perhaps you will not care much about him/ her. On the

other hand, if he or she looks so clumsy in the clothing and in the way he or she acts,

your cognition will automatically interpret that such person maybe not trustworthy for

anything serious. On the contrary, a good looking and tidy one will catch the eyes.

Obviously, in order to trust the person, you need to get acquainted with that one first.

Starting from the 1st phase of the perceptual process which is Perceptual Attention,

Advertising is there to trigger the consumer interests and getting attention (Fig 19).

An extraordinary, distinctive feature will make the person / brand standout from other

clutters, but not to extravagant to offense the consumers, they will pay attention, but

with a bad impression. In concrete, before trusting the brand, consumer must know

that the brand exists; also the ads for the brand must have positive impression to catch

the consumer attention and invite them to try the brand for the first time.

31

Figure 19 : ZAG - Advertising

Source: Neumeier M., 2007, ZAG – The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands, New Rider –

Pearson Education: USA, pg. 25.

‗Advertising can intrigue and lead to trial. Advertising can reinforce.

Advertising can remind you of a successful brand experience, thus leading to re-trial’

(Brand and Branding from Mike Perry, Perry & Associates, 2007). Thus, which is the

best way of advertising to reinforce the brand? Megan McIlroy from AdAge reveal

the best way for brand association is through TV with the average brand advertising

recalled is 22%, Magazine followed by 16% , 13% for newspaper ads and also 13%

for family and friend recommendation. Internet search possesses 12% of recalls, 9%

for outdoor ads, radio ads or banners at 7%. From the above data, we can infer the

best tool to reinforce the brand is through TV commercials.

It is true that 100% of interviewees in my focus group remember the

emotional ads ‘The People’s bank’ of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB). Starting from

the ads, they get to know about the name ACB They all find it very touching and

32

unforgettable. The stone chair is the very simple but stable and maybe a part of our

daily life- it is where they sit, where they share the happy moments with their family

etc. For the first time, the TVC have created an emotional linkage with the potential

consumers, thrust right into touch-point of Vietnamese consumers, and breaking

through the consumer perceptual distortion and remain in the perceptual retention.

Figure 20: Original TVC Concept Illustration

Source: Nga V., Clipper Indochine Vietnam portfolio – ACB bank, Clipper Indochine Vietnam.

33

Some ads simply fail from the first stage, which is Selective Attention. It is

because Vietnamese consumers are more and more sophisticated, their ad savvy

spectrum has also progressed to the 5th

stage, which is Lifestyle ads (Fig. 21), ACB –

The People’s bank TVC for instance . Despite the fact that Straight Sell, Hard Sell

just do not work anymore, a large percentage of domestic brands still apply them‘,

said Mr Tran Hoang, CEO of VietnamMarcom. This may explain why many of the

Made-in-Vietnam products have good quality but not yet been trusted by consumers

simply because they fail at the 1st stage i.e. make acquaintance with the consumers.

Figure 21: Vietnam Ad Savvy

Source: NFO World Group, 2005, How fast is the Vietnamese consumer changing -Vietnam Ad Savvy, Leo

Burnette Vietnam

Another brand is Kaila, once a phenomenon in the teen-skincare category

has its own way to stay in focus. ‗The initial plan of the head company – Minh Viet

(100% Vietnamese company) was to create new series of skincare product for women

with good quality but reasonable price. However, in 2005, the segment of teenagers

had not been touched. Our company- Cli2per had made a strategic move to explore

34

this potential segment starting from nothing. Being the 1st mover, Kaila has the

challenge to gain trust from Vietnamese consumers‘, said Mr. Do Cao Nguyen,

Creative Director of Cli2per Indochine Vietnam (Personal Interview, Cli2per, 2008).

For a very long time, most Vietnamese consumers rely much on the

imported goods rather than domestic because they think domestic goods are of bad

quality and somewhat low-class. Some respondents in the focus group said they may

not recognize that Kaila is made in Vietnam due name of the product, the TVC which

has English-Japanese translation (Fig. 22 ). Also, it is the first TVC for teenage

skincare product to be filmed with modern technique, which makes the products look

so clean, and fresh, just like a Japanese skincare commercial. As a result, Vietnamese

buy Kaila because they think it may be made in Japan or at least some think it has the

Thai origin (54,89% of the respondents in my survey think Kaila is an international

brand). The throughout research had indicated Vietnamese consumers assumed

Japanese products to be the most durable and high quality, particularly in cosmetic or

skincare items. Previously mentioned, a typical Vietnamese consumer very much

favor international brand. Thus, this is the manipulation advertisers of Vietnamese

consumer ethnocentrism, some people are likely to be receptive to foreign-made

product while other are not (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2004) to get acquainted with our

consumers. Kaila has successfully match with the Vietnamese consumer perceptual

distortion toward domestic and international brands…‗We did this to stimulate the

consumers, not to cheat them, because our products are truly exported to Japan, and

Minh Viet have proved to be running a Japanese transferred technology from

Pigeon‘, said Mr Do.

35

Figure 22: Kaila cleanser and two-way cake

Source: Nga V., Clipper Indochine Vietnam portfolio – Kaila, Clipper Indochine Vietnam.

As a brand, the crucial factors of trust are to maintain the level of

consistency. Previously mentioned, risk is the important denominator in the Trust

Equation, the consistency will leads to the predictability and reduce the perceived risk

(Changingming, 2008). Based In other words, the consistency still remains by time,

36

the more we trust. ‗If you always do what you say you are going to do, it makes your

behavior very predictable, which means I can feel even safer around you. It also

means that if I ask you do something I do not need to keep checking up on you‘.

(Changingmind, 2008). Yet, if Kaila‘s ‘product quality fails to be consistent with the

advertisement, the packaging, that brand will die more devastatingly‘( Hoang T,

Lecture on Marketing in Vietnam, 2006). Essentially, there is trust threshold; once

trust is lost, it is very difficult to gain back the original trust level

Friends

Getting back to your relationship with the person, I assume that you have

made the first trial i.e. a nice hangout with the person, many chances, you will ask to

hang out with that one again since you have had so much fun at the last time. If that

meeting turns out to be a devastating date, a forever goodbye is the best solution. As

in the case of Kaila. when using the product and having such nice direct experience

using it, you will have the re-trial, which means using the products again and again if

the product of that brand still match with what you have expected, or else, you will

stop using it and start to find a new brand, Pond’s maybe! Supposed, you have had a

good experience with that person till now, and by time, you know more about that

person. The more you know about him/her, the more you will place your trust in that

person because you can roughly predict his/her action based on your past experience

with such type of people. In other words, you, a consumer, is experimenting the

second level of trust, which is knowledge- based trust or maybe getting into the 3rd

level i.e. identification-based trust if the relationship moves further. For quite some

time, your expectation has not been disappointed. Then comes the friendship after the

acquaintance, which consists of mutual love, trust, respect, and acceptance; and

usually implies common ground between the individuals involved (Wikipedia, 2008).

In order to reinforce your friendship, at this level, you and your friend

could start to share more about each other, rather than just a rough introduction and

37

passer-by fun. Exchanging of information is very important at this stage. At some

point, one should be transparent enough to let someone be your friend. Transparency

if done right will lead to more trust (BBC radio 4, Reith Lecture 2002- A Question of

Trust). Yet, another factor of creating trust is enough transparency, which means in

this case, the transparency of the information and the quality. The quality of the

communication must match with the quality of the product/service, also true with the

case of ACB and Kaila so far. Transparency not only reinforces credibility - the

correspondence of the knowledge-based trust, but also reduce the unexpected risk.

The advertising campaign of ACB has been a huge success in building up a credible

image of ACB. Additionally thanks to the transparency of information given to

consumers as well as the professional service ACB has offered, now, the quality of

communication does match with the quality of service. In the past, transparency had

also helped ACB overcome the rumor crisis 5 years ago.

Five years ago, starting from Sunday 12/10/2003 there was the rumors

about the escape of the managing director holding all the money. Suddenly, depositors

rushed to the bank to withdraw money. In several days, around 10 billions of VND

had been withdrawn from the bank leaving the bank in temporary insolvency. This is

quite an interesting case of the 1st Vietnamese bank to run into this crisis and how

they solved it. ACB had made a clever strategy to overcome this crisis. Within 3 days

later after the rumor sparked, Wednesday 15/10/2003, ACB hold the press conference

and opened live Q&A session for consumers with the appearance of Managing

Director, Mr Phạm Văn Thiệt and the convincing presence of the Governor of

Vietnam State Bank, Mr Lê Đức Thúy ( VnExpress – Online Interview with the

Governor of Vietnam State Bank and ACB‘s Managing Director, 2003). Most

Vietnamese perceive that every private company may bare a chance to bankruptcy,

but not the government in Vietnam. Due to the well-known political and economical

stability of Vietnam for such a long time, this fact has been proved to be true. As the

matter of fact, Vietnam state-owned or governmental departments are considered to

be the strongest, the most powerful to sustain through crisis. Governor of Vietnam

State Bank, Mr Le Duc Thuy‘s presence besides Managing Director of ACB as to

38

evidence a firm and ready support from the Vietnam State Bank to ACB. This

solution has been inferred from the use of transparency as to inform the consumer

with enough real and trustworthy fact that ACB Managing Director did not hide and

straightly there in front of the public to clarify doubt. Secondly, leveraging of the

Vietnamese perception about the Vietnam Government stability in banking

management had proved to be effective. Upon notice the presence of Governor of

Vietnam State Bank, it is a very wise idea in using the credited third party to support

for our communication. This is known as Public Relation.

Figure 23: ZAG – Public Relation

Source: Neumeier M., 2007, ZAG – The Number One Strategy of High-Performance Brands, New Rider –

Pearson Education: USA, pg. 25.

39

Trust is not just about you and the brand !

In the context of collective trust, trust is established not only based on an

actor's own experiences (individual trust), but also based on the trust that other actors,

in the same community, have established (Olsson O., 2008). In order words,

Individual can not stand alone. Each person interacts with others and is influenced by

the society. It is not only you and your brand account for the trust relationship in

brand.Thus, the next part will discuss about the some social factors which impact the

brand trust relationship with the consumer.

The fact that brand trust is impacted by the referrals of others is inevitable;

it may make it better or worse, especially when Vietnamese consumers possess a high

sense of collectivism and deep rooted by Confusion. Placing yourself in the position

of the Vietnamese consumers, family, seniors and friends are the most influential of

all. According to my survey with 123 respondents, 90,52% respondents neutrally

trusted to most trusted in family, then seniors 86,87% and 78,86% friends for friends.

As for friends, most Vietnamese have peer-to-peer pressure due to their need of

affiliation and being appreciated by others. they may be influenced by their friends

and use the brand though it may not totally suitable to them. ‘My friends use it and

refer it to me’, said an interviewee. The power of ascendancy from seniority and

family members may be a lot more than friends. Imagine you engage in a relationship

with a friend who is very much acceptable to your family. Definitely, you will have a

very strong support from your family members, to convince you that he/she is

trustable. Again, risk is an essential factor of Trust. Anyone would agree that you are

safest when you are with your family. Family members are likely to do no harms for

one another, especially blood-tight relationship i.e. parents – son/ daughters. With the

advice and recommendation, support and reinforce of your family, you will possibly

trust that person even more than when there is just only 2 of you. It happens the same

for brand. For instance, most of my family members have been trusting and using

ACB for many years; therefore I am likely to use ACB service. The result is I am

currently a consumer of ACB.

40

Recall the Vietnamese common saying i.e. ‗you could know a person

through his/her friends‘. From your friends, the third party may have such assumption

about you. Having educated, hilarious, friendly friends, others may perceive you may

sharing the similar characteristics. It happens the same as the brand will bring up the

pursue of your self image and social image. Consumers share the attribute of a brand

(Kapferer J. ,2004). XMen shampoo (one of first and leading brands of shampoo for

men launched by International Consumer Products corp. – a domestic company) is

thought to represent the manly, and confident attribute according to the interviewees

in my focus group (Fig. 23). It helps them pursue the ideal social self image of ‗The

Real Man’ (‘It makes me feel more confident and manly to others’). XMen consumers

must trust in the product in order to let themselves being identified by such brands.

What if the brand degrade, no more perceived to be manly as it used to be, and real

social image of the consumer will also be affected. Personally thinking, XMen

consumers have progressed the trust of to a higher than knowledge-based trust, it

maybe identification-based trust if Xmen knows how to maintain and keep on

improving its quality.

Figure 24: X-Men Products and Banners

Source: X-Men Product Index, ICP Corp, viewed 30 May 2008,

http://www.icpvn.com/index.php?option=com_productbook&Itemid=30&task=pdetail&cid=2&pid=1&lang=en

41

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

In conclusion, building Trust relationship with consumers is building and

preserving an interpersonal relationship from acquaintance to being friends or maybe

any further. The match-makers are advertising , public relation and some other means

of communication.

In other to build trust in brand, the first step is to make acquaintance i.e.

the brand existence must be known by potential consumers before moving any

further. This can be done by Advertising. It has been proved that, TVCs are still the

King to trigger the consumer interest. It leads to trial. And ‗trial lead to trust’ (Brand

and Branding, Derek Carstens and FirstRand , 2007). Into the next level of

relationship - friendship and to maintain the relationships, one could use advertising

to reinforce and recall the good experiences consumers have had with the brands;

Also, we may use the third party to encompass the trustworthiness of the brand i.e.

Public Relation. Your trust can be encompassed by the referrals of other parties -

ssignificantly effective when it comes to the Vietnamese consumers, who highly

values family, senior and friends.

In my opinion, brand trust is built upon expectation of the consumers and

the risk they bare to reach the product of that brand. Critically thinking, Advertising is

the concurrent medium to lead consumers to expectation for such brand. That is the

reason why advertisers always try to appeal the consumers with nice and cutting-edge

printads, splendid and creative TV commercials and so many more. On the other

hand, risk is where Public Relation involved. To minimize the riskiness and sustain

42

the brand through many challenges and risky situations e.g. bad rumors, harmful

information etc. (ACB case). This leads to the fact that the higher the expectation is,

the higher the risk accompanied with such expectation.

The 3 brands that I mention previously are all considered successful

domestic brands. Some of the domestic brands such as Kaila and X-Men have

leveraged the consumer ethnocentrism to win over. Other like ACB knows how to

thrust into the Vietnamese consumer emotional touchpoint. They all have passed the

perceptual process of getting attention, breaking through perceptual distortion and

retaining in consumer mind share and heart. Still, the product of that brand have to

sustain it quality overtime. The marketer must bear in mind that ‗if the ads are too

appeal, but the quality of the product is inconsistent to the appeal, then the brand

trust will die more devastatingly’. We are discussing about the consistency of the

brand. Because the Trust equation indicates the most important factor is Risk, to gain

Trust, we must reduce the risk perceived by our consumers. One of the factors to

reduce risk is consistency. This leads to the brand predictability by time. However,

according to Neumeir (2003), Trust comes from meeting and beating the consumer

expectations. Therefore, Trust will fail dramatically if the brand does not live up to

the consumer expectation. Consistency is when trial leads to retrial and possibly the

next retrial. Yet, by time consumers will reward the brand with generous loyalty for

the consistency creating a significant improvement and joy in their lives. Personally

thinking, the first and foremost problems of most of our domestic brands is the lack of

consistency to meet up our consumers. The quality does not match with the

communication. I would recommend any domestic company to improve their product/

service quality before polishing it with the attractive appeals. Once the product is

ready, advertising and PR will revolve it to become a trustworthy brand. It obviously

takes time and so much effort.

The effectiveness of Ad, PR and other means of communication try make

acquaintance with consumer and recall all the good point of the product/service of a

particular brand. The consistency in product/ service quality leads to lower the risk

perception of the consumer. They are all there to build up the good experience of our

43

consumers. After all the analysis and interpretation, here is my own model of trust

based on the Experience factor.

Figure 25: Brand Trust model (Experience)

Note: IN-EX = indirect experience, DIR-EX= direct experience, IMC = Integrated Marketing Communication

I believe that this model does represent the relation of Trust toward

Experience as well as Trust components. From this model, market will not only be

able to identify the where is the problem of the brand which leads to distrust, but also

know where to progress trust to the highest level. I hope this simple model will be a

good recommendation for any particular brand owner.

AREA OF FUTURE RESEARCH

The findings of the present paper probably raise more questions than

theyanswers, opening a variety of future research issues. However, it is not feasible

without insight getting to know the Vietnamese consumers in order to integrate the

trustworthiness for our domestic brand. Previously shown, Vietnamese consumers are

more emotional than rational; they are much influenced by the people around them,

particular family, seniors and friends. Also, they possess very strong brand loyalty yet

44

very risk-adverse. From that we can develop a very powerful means of

communication to foster brand trust in our domestic consumers. The Creative Industry

in Vietnam has grown significantly. Vietnamese consumers are becoming more and

more sophisticated. However, when compared to other developed countries such as

the US, UK, Japan, where clutters has saturated the Creative Industry, Vietnam still

have plenty of rooms for marketers to create influence for the consumers. Still, one

important and powerful communication vehicle has not been fully used yet in

Vietnam i.e. The Power of Crowd – Word-of-Mouth. ‗Today’s consumers resemble

dynamic swarm, not passive herb’ (Luo J., DDBO Chicago, 2008). The more the

referrals of the majority, the more consumers will perceive the lower risk. As

powerful to foster the brand trust, it can also destroy it frightful without difficulty.

Therefore, my future area of study will possibly be the effects and affects of WOM

into trust for domestic brand in Vietnam.

Figure 26: Fish Swarm

Source: Fish Swarm, 2008, Aqualines, viewed 29 May 2008, http://aqualinesfds.com/z/fish-swarm.jpg

45

Overall, simply place the name of the brand into the person, we will see

how we trust the brand. Trust is initiated and managed by individuals but influenced

by the society Interestingly, for different level of relationship, the trust varies

accordingly. Commonly, it is easier to make friends but for a life-long partner, it

takes great time and effort to make sure that we understand the other well and be able

share a good lifetime experience. It happens the same to brand trust.

46

REFERENCES

1. 2008 Calendar Charting, Cimigo, pg 3, viewed 8 April 2008, Cimigo Vietnam

database

2. BBC radio 4, Reith Lecture 2002- A Question of Trust, viewed 18th June

2008, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/reith2002/lecture4.shtml

3. BBC reporters, ‗Confidence‘, BBC Health, viewed 8April 2008,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/confidence/learn/

4. Bhardwaj A. and Dietz J. and Beamish, P.W., 2007, Host country cultural

influences on foreign direct investment, viewed 15th April 2008,

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-32669599_ITM

5. Biz Community, Brand and Branding 2007, viewed 30 May 2008,

http://www.bizcommunity.com/PressOffice/PressRelease.aspx?i=290&ai=164

35

6. Buttle, Francis & Burton, Jamie (Feb, 2002) ―Does service failure influence

customer loyalty?‖ Journal of Consumer Behavior.

7. Changing Mind, 2008, Syque 2002-2007, viewed 20th

June 2008,

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/brand_management/brand_reputation.ht

m, http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/a_trust.htm

http://www.changingminds.org/explanations/trust/where_we_trust.htm

47

8. Daniels D. J., Radebaugh H. Lee and Sullivan P. D., 2002, Globalization and

Business, Prentice Hall: USA, pg 92.

9. Delgado-Ballester E. and Munuera-Alema L.J, 2004, Brand trust in the

context of consumer loyalty, European Journal of Marketing

10. Do N., 2008, Personal Interview on Cli2per‘s portfolio – Kaila and ACB, 16

May 2008

(Mr Nguyen Cao Do is the Creative Director of Clipper Indochine Vietnam,

also the top expert in the Creative Industry)

11. Fish Swarm, 2008, Aqualines, viewed 29 May 2008,

http://aqualinesfds.com/z/fish-swarm.jpg

12. Hoang T., 2006, Lecture on Marketing in Vietnam ,VietnamMarcom, 15

November 2006

(Mr Tran Hoang is the CEO of VietnamMarcom and the representative of

International Advertising Association in Vietnam)

13. Hofstede G., 2007, Hofstede‘s Cultural Dimension, viewed 20th April 2008,

http://www.geert-hofstede.com/index.shtml , http://www.geert-

hofstede.com/geert_hofstede_resources.shtml

14. Kotler, P 2003, Marketing Management 7th edition, Prentice Hall: USA, pg

197

48

15. Lou J., 2008, ‗Reinvent the relationships brands have with consumers‘, Adfest

Conference, 27 March 2008

16. Kapferer J. ,2004, ‗The new strategic Brand Management‘, 3rd edition, Kogan

Page: London, pg 134

17. Kanner B., 1989, pg. 22-23, cited in Schiffman and Kanuk 2004, Consumer

Behavior 8th edition, Prentice Hall: Singapore, pg. 141

18. Lamb, Hair, Mc Daniel, 2005, Essentials of Marketing, 4th edition, Thomson

South-Western: USA, pg 143-144

19. McShane S. and Travaglione T., 2003, Organizational Behavior-On the

Pacific Rim, McGraw-Hill: Australia, pg 132

20. McIlroy M., Family, Friends Most Influential on Shoppers- ZenithOptimedia

Study: TV Still King for Branding, AdAge,

http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=126276

21. Merian Webster Dictionary, 2008, the meaning of Acquaintance, viewed 20th

June 2008, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acquaintance

22. NFO World Group, 2005, How fast is the Vietnamese consumer changing -

Vietnam Ad Savvy, Leo Burnette Vietnam

49

23. Neumeier M., 2003, Brand Gap – The Number One Strategy of High-

Performance Brands, Netronllc, viewed 30th

May 2008,

http://archive.neutronllc.com/Pages/Interview.html

24. Neumeier M., 2007, ZAG – The Number One Strategy of High-Performance

Brands, New Rider – Pearson Education: USA, pg 24, 25.

25. Nga V., Clipper Indochine Vietnam portfolio – ACB bank and Kaila, viewed

18 April 2008, Clipper Indochine Vietnam

(Ms. Vo Thanh Nga is the managing director of Cli2per Indochine Vietnam)

26. Olsson O., 2008, Trust in eCommerce - the ontological status of trust,

Swedish Institute of Computer Science, pg 6

27. Ryan A. N, 2002, In Brand We Trust, School of Economics and Commercial

Law , Göteborg University, Sweden, pg 29, 127

28. Schiffman and Kanuk 2004, Consumer Behavior 8th edition, Prentice Hall:

Singapore, pg. 136, 199

29. Temporal, Paul & Lee, K.C. (2001) ―Hi-Touch Branding, Creating Brand

Power in the Age of technology‖ John Wiley & Sons, Singapore.

30. Viet Bao article - The Most Favourite Motobike of Vietnamese Women ,

2008, Viet Bao, viewed 16th

June 2008,

http://www2.vietbao.vn/images/oto/viet_nam/61001369_07.jpg

50

31. Vietnam Consumer Future Oct‘ 2007, TNS, pg 58, viewed 26 April 2008,

Amcham,

http://www.amchamvietnam.com/download/904/L2Rvd25sb2FkLzkwNA

32. VnExpress – Online Interview with the Governor of Vietnam State Bank and

ACB‘s Managing Director, 2003, viewed 5th

April 2007,

http://vnexpress.net/Vietnam/Kinh-doanh/2003/10/3B9CC58F/

33. Well, W, Mopriarty, S & Burnett, J 2006, Advertising Principles & Practice

7th edition, Prentice Hall: USA, pg 104

34. Wheelen TL. and Hunger JD., 2000, Strategic Management 8th edition,

Prentice Hall: Singapore, pg. 151-152

35. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2008, ‗Trust (social science)‘, Trust

(Sociology), 26 March, viewed 8th April 2008,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trust_(sociology)

36. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2008, Intimacy/Credibility/Friendship,

Personal Relationship, 5th May, viewed 8 April 2008,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimacy, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credibility,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendship,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpersonal_relationship

37. X-Men Product Index, ICP Corp, viewed 30 May 2008,

http://www.icpvn.com/index.php?option=com_productbook&Itemid=30&task

=pdetail&cid=2&pid=1&lang=en

APPENDIX

1. Excitingly Young Vietnam

Source: CI on Vietnam - Special Reports, CI Express, Customers Insight, pg.23, viewed 11

2. ZenithOptimedia's Touchpoints ROI Tracker

The data comes from ZenithOptimedia's Touchpoints ROI Tracker is a

comprehensive project comprising over 300,000 interviews across 34 countries and

covering more than 4,000 brands in 126 product and service categories. Consumer

touchpoints were each given a "contact clout factor," a number on a scale of 1 to 100

that indicates the relative influence of the touchpoint on purchasing…. TV is tops for

branding. The ROI Tracker also measures brand association, or the percentage of

consumers who say they have seen or heard of a brand though a touchpoint in recent

months.

Source: McIlroy M., Family, Friends Most Influential on Shoppers- ZenithOptimedia Study: TV Still King for

Branding, AdAge, http://adage.com/mediaworks/article?article_id=126276

A STUDY OF TRUST FOR DOMESTIC BRANDS

Le Xuan Truc

WHAT? - Definitions and theories

WHY? - Culture, perception, domestic brand

WHO? - A portrait of Vietnamese consumer with respect to trust

HOW? - A snapshot of trust relationship between Vietnamese consumers and domestic brands

CONCLUSIONRECOMMENDATION

WHAT?

Definitions and theories

What does TRUST mean to you?

‘I believe that I will not be cheated’

‘Trust is the foundation decision making’

‘Trust is the confidence based on the past experience’

‘It would be very difficult to trust a person/product/brand again, if that person/product/brand fails my expectation’

INTERVIEW

‘The foundation of brand is trust’

Trust Level

Trust Equation - RISK

Perceptual Process

.

WHY?

Culture

Perception

Domestic brands

Do you trust domestic or international brands?

WHO?

A portrait of Vietnamese consumer with respect to trust

“A PERSON LIKE ME IS NOW THE MOST TRUSTED”

123 Respondents…

Family FriendsSeniors

123 Consumers trust in…

123 Consumers explain about brand trust

‘My experience in using it’

‘good packaging, good quality - consistency ’

‘I trust the brand because it has a long history of establishment and I have used it in a long time’

‘my friends have used it’ - ‘my family recommend it to me’

Or simply … ‘it is International’

Vietnam Culture

70

20

4050

80

PDI IDV MAS UAI LTO

High Power Distance Index (PDI) with respect to seniority in relationship

Low Individualism (IDV) A ‘We’ is more important than an ‘I’

Masculinity (MAS) infer a feminine society - emotional

Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI): the openness to new ideas and culture diversity; still very risk-adverse.

High Long-term orientation (LTO)values thrift, perseverance, long term and absolute truth.

I’m vey much influence others i.e. my family, friends and seniors. I trust

them

I am feminine

I value long-term

relationship, high brand loyalty

& trust

I am Risk-Adverse

I am Young and quite open to new ideas and culture.

Low in ethnocentrism

I trust international brands more

A Typical Vietnamese Consumer

HOW?

A snapshot of trust relationship between Vietnamese consumers and

domestic brands

TRUST- An Interpersonal relationship

Acquaintance Friendship Life-long partner

Make acquaintance by Advertising

It leads to trial.

‘Trial leads to Trust’

Association -Ads recall the good experience

TVCs are still the King to trigger the consumer interest and attention.

1 Straight SellProduct Attributes

2 Hard SellComparative Attributes

3 EndorsementFunctional Benefits

4 MetaphorConsumer Benefits

5 LifestyleFunctional + Emotional

6 SymbolicAbstract Values

7 Post ModernAdvertising itself

Naïve Consumers

Low competition

High competition

Super Consumers

Vietnam Ad Savvy

PR encompass the trustworthiness of the brand

PR reduces risk such as rumors andharmful information

PR entrust brand through 3rd party

Trust is not just about you and the brand !

Trust is established not only based on an actor's own experiences (individual trust), but also based on the trust that

other actors (collective trust)

ideal social self image

collectivism

need of affiliation

Family, friends and society

‘Today’s consumers resemble dynamic swarm’

DDBO Chicago, 2008

VOX POPULI

I recommend…

Understand the Vietnamese consumers

Make sure the consumer experience is consistent inside out

Choose right Match-makers

Brand Trust model

In concrete…

an interpersonal relationship

managed by individuals but influenced by the society

varies for different level of relationship

It takes great time and effort to make sure that we understand the other well and be able share a good lifetime experience

It happens the same to brand trust…

simply place the name of the brand into the person, we will see how we trust

the brand

Prepared by Le Xuan Truc

Advised by Mr. Cheah Kuan Yean