YAHOO! AND TNS RELEASE FIRST-EVER
INTERNET HABITS STUDY FOR VIETNAM
The “Net Index” Gives Marketers Insights into Online Media Habits of Consumers in the Vietnam; Helps Advertisers Plan Integrated Campaigns using Online Marketing
Ho Chi Minh, April 2, 2009 – Yahoo! and TNS today announced the results of the first-ever in-depth media habits study to provide marketers and media planners with insights into urban Vietnamese internet user habits. The Net Index will provide a rigorous and strategic ‘big picture’ overview of consumer online activities that includes cross-media usage habits, lifestyles, psychographics and brand preferences. The study also addresses a current knowledge gap in Vietnam on this medium and will help brands unravel the advertising opportunities to reach and engage online target audiences.
Some of the research’s key findings include:
•42% of the population in Vietnam’s four biggest cities – Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang and Can Tho — has accessed the internet in the past week.
•Average daily time spent on the internet has nearly doubled from 22 minutes in 2006 to 43 minutes in 2008. On the other hand, daily time spent on watching TV has declined by 21% to 233 minutes in 2008.
•Average personal expenditure on the internet (including subscription fee) is about VND174,000 or about USD10 per month.
•Home internet access is becoming more prevalent than internet café access. 66% has accessed the internet from home in the past three months. In comparison, 53% has accessed the web from internet cafes and WiFi hotspots in the past three months. However, the teens and users from the lower socio-economic classes still continue to spend a significant part of their internet time in the icafes.
•Information and other search-related activities are popular online activities. In the past month, 82% has used search engines and nearly 90% has read news on internet portals and other news sites.
•Instant messaging is more popular than email use. 73% has used instant messengers in the past month compared to 58% for web-based email. More than 95% of internet users use Yahoo! instant messenger and email in Vietnam.
“This study reveals the opportunity for marketers and media planners in the Vietnam to re-examine advertising strategies and utilize the internet as an effective way to reach and engage with target consumers,” said Tri Minh Vu, general director, Yahoo! Vietnam. “The opportunity that now exists is one of the key reasons that Yahoo! has stepped up its direct sales model in the Vietnam, giving brands and advertisers access to reach the millions people in the country that are on Yahoo! every month,” Tri added.
Vietnam is witnessing rapid growth of digital media. With an estimated 18 million internet users, Vietnam will see more users going online to communicate with family and friends, to engage in entertainment, and to obtain information as the internet becomes increasingly accessible around the country. As a result, businesses will need to keep up and understand the new opportunities the internet medium and their online consumers bring.
"Digital media’s success in today’s advertising landscape is dependent on its accountability to the advertiser, the media agency and its stakeholders. TNS is proud to be partnering with Yahoo! to provide the Advertising and Media industry in Vietnam with the most comprehensive and geographically extensive study on the online Vietnamese, his profile, his online activities, his attitudes and how he consumes digital media in the context of other media", said Trần Thị Thanh Mai, Managing Director TNS Media Vietnam
With a generation of young Vietnamese growing up as digital natives, understanding their media habits is critical to understanding the future. The Net Index study not only provides findings on popular online activities from email, search to instant messaging, but also sheds light on internet usage trends (e.g. from social networking to most visited websites), channels of web access (e.g. from internet cafes to mobile phones) and makes recommendations on how businesses can leverage the research to grow their businesses.
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