Minh-Ngoc Nguyen
Research Expert covering Vietnam
Digital advertising in Vietnam - statistics & facts
Digital advertising has become a multibillion-dollar industry. Although traditional ad formats are still employed, online appearance is now the norm for brands across the globe to reach their connected consumers. Having one of the highest numbers of internet users worldwide, Vietnam has seen a booming digital advertising market. The value of digital advertising spending in the country has been growing fast in the past few years, and it is forecast to reach 476 million U.S. dollars by 2025.
On the other hand, social media was having a moment as the most used online advertising tool among Vietnamese enterprises in 2021, thanks to the affordability and accessibility of these platforms. Vietnam had around 77 million social media users in 2022, and finding products to purchase and researching brands were among the leading reasons for using social networks among these users. Naturally, social media advertising has been keeping a sustainable share of total digital advertising expenditure in Vietnam, and its role in the digital advertising market will remain significant due to the popularity of social media and the growth of social commerce usage among Vietnamese people.
Emerging digital ad formats in Vietnam
Search advertising is by far the format with the largest digital advertising expenditure in Vietnam. As Google accounts for over 90 percent of the search engine market share in the country, the tech giant has been a major beneficiary of advertisers’ spending. This advertising format also saw the highest value growth rate within the Vietnamese market until video advertising overtook as the fastest-growing digital ad format in 2022. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned online entertainment activities, especially video and audio streaming, into the "new normal" for leisure time among internet users in Vietnam, which resulted in higher growth for video ads compared to other formats.On the other hand, social media was having a moment as the most used online advertising tool among Vietnamese enterprises in 2021, thanks to the affordability and accessibility of these platforms. Vietnam had around 77 million social media users in 2022, and finding products to purchase and researching brands were among the leading reasons for using social networks among these users. Naturally, social media advertising has been keeping a sustainable share of total digital advertising expenditure in Vietnam, and its role in the digital advertising market will remain significant due to the popularity of social media and the growth of social commerce usage among Vietnamese people.
