VietNamNet Bridge – Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper talks with Do Van Ve, president of Young Businessmen Association of Thai Binh Province about the issue of branding in a globally integated economy.

People say branding is a vital factor in business. What do you have to say about that idea?

Yes, it is right. Brand is a decisive factor of development of a business, even a nation.

Branding is very important, especially in the period of in-depth international integration. In my opinion, branding should be done since the beginning of a business. A good brand can help bring more profit to businesses.

Which kind of business is interested in branding?

Currently, most businesses, especially large-scale ones, are aware of the importance of branding work. It is because if you own a big brand and get trust from clients, your business will win in the market.

Thus, in my opinion, not only setting up but also protecting a brand is very important.

Protecting the brand means protecting the prestige and trust of the business. Businesses should find the best solution to further improve their brands in the market. The value of a brand might be worth more than the value of a business' facilities.

What do you think businesses should do to set up and protect their brands?

In my opinion, enterprises should be interested in registering intellectual property of their products and brands.

A good brand could build a trust with clients and banks, which helps to bring more chances to further develop. A business will be a success if it raises its brand to a national brand. National brands will bring more to both the country and businesses. If we have more and more good brands, we are more well-known. A nation must have many strong brands and many strong brands will help a nation be stronger.

At present, most made-in-Viet Nam products, which have created a foothold in the world market, are agricultural products. Do you think we will continue to regard agriculture as a spearhead sector for building up a national brand?

A national brand for Viet Nam's agricultural products is very important. Viet Nam has been known for agricultural products. However, we have not yet fully tapped the potential to develop the agriculture sector as compared to other countries in the world.

The quality and price of agricultural products have not been competitive in the world market. In my opinion, we need policies to lure investment into the sector. At present, some big groups such as FPT, Hoa Phat and Hoang Anh Gia Lai have invested into the sector aiming to build brands of Vietnamese rice and some other products.

The world knows Viet Nam as a agricultural country. That is an advantage. Now, if properly invested, the made-in-Viet Nam agricultural products can surely compete with other products in international market.

VNS