VietNamNet Bridge - Vietnamese marketing experts commented that US President Obama gave Habevo a golden opportunity to advertise its Bia Ha Noi (Hanoi beer) brand. But Habeco still cannot take full advantage of the opportunity.

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Obama enjoyed bun cha with American chef Anthony Bourdain

After Obama had dinner at Huong Lien bun cha Shop and drank Bia Ha Noi on May 23, the first day of his visit to Vietnam, both brands appeared many times on mass media. Bia Ha Noi was even mentioned in Obama’s speech the next morning.

However, while Huong Lien bun cha Shop’s business has been thriving since then, Bia Ha Noi is less lucky.

A branding expert commented that Habeco is not professional in this case because it could not exploit the event to become more famous. What Habeco did after that was to post stories on its fanpage which simply said Obama drank Bia Ha Noi.

Meanwhile, Bia Ha Noi has great advantages to advertise itself to become better known, not only in Vietnam, but also in the world. 

Vietnamese marketing experts commented that US President Obama gave Habevo a golden opportunity to advertise its Bia Ha Noi (Hanoi beer) brand. But Habeco still cannot take full advantage of the opportunity.
Facing criticism, Habeco recently took steps to improve its image in a ‘better later than never’ plan.

Habeco has cooperated with Huong Lien bun cha Shop to launch a campaign to advertse the two brands. At Huong Lien Shop, the pictures of  Obama drinking Bia Ha Noi and Obama saying at the Hanoi National Convention Center that he had many good dishes, namely bun cha Vietnam and Bia Ha Noi.

Habeco has launched a program offering Bia Ha Noi for free at 37 restaurants and beer shops in Hanoi. Of course, the images of Obama have been fully exploited with the message that Bia Ha Noi is the choice of the US President.

Habeco has announced it will offer 1,500 ‘Obama servings’ at Huong Lien bun cha Shop at No 24 Le Van Huu street to the customers who luckily receive the gift vouchers on the days from May 29 to June 29.

Some new phrases have been created with the keywords ‘bun cha’, ‘Obama’ and ‘Bia Ha Noi’, for example ‘suat an Obama’ (Obama serving), “Tong thong Barack Obama uong 2, con ban???” (Obama drank two bottles, what about you?)

However, some analysts commented that Habeco has run its PR campaigns ‘hastily’ and ‘unprofessionally’ which may bring bad consequences rather than good fame.

Tri Thuc Tre quoted an official from PLF, a well known law firm, as saying that under the 2005 Civil Code which takes effect until December 31, 2016, the images of any individual can only be used with the individual’s consent. The violators of the law may have to pay a fine of VND30 million.



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Kim Chi