Episodes

  • E40: Why your brand MUST connect with Vietnamese women (and how!)
    Nov 5 2024

    Angélique Masse Nguyen and Duong Phan founded NOI, an agency that helps brands understand and communicate better with Vietnamese women. In this episode, they explain how Vietnamese women hold most of the purchasing power in Vietnam but still feel underrepresented in Vietnam's advertising and media landscape. They give insight about women's spending behaviours and share tips on how brands and marketers can authentically connect to the head of the family firm. They explore what brands are doing right, what they are doing wrong, and discuss the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs here.

    If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops. This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn.

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    35 mins
  • E39: Fighting the dark side of Vietnam's rapid development: human trafficking
    Oct 22 2024

    On this episode of You Don't Know Vietnam, we have the pleasure of talking to Michael Brosowski, the Founder and Strategic Director of Blue Dragon - a children's foundation that's been doing some of the most important and awe-inspiring work in Vietnam. To date, Blue Dragon has rescued almost 1,700 people from human trafficking. They've helped send 6,400 kids to school, placed almost 500 teens in jobs, and was instrumental in rescue efforts during the recent Typhoon Yagi and the subsequent landslides that ravaged through communities in northern Vietnam. Today, Michael talks about the darker sides of Vietnam's rapid economic development and describes which communities are most at risk. He tells the story of how Blue Dragon began, recounts the first ever rescue mission, and outlines what success looks like for Blue Dragon in Vietnam. He also give tips for global business to ensure their migrant works aren't being exploited, and talks about the best ways to give back to Vietnam sensitively through CSR initiatives. Head over to www.bluedragon.org to learn more about what Michael and Blue Dragon do in Vietnam. Donate at bluedragon.org/donate to support Vietnamese children in crisis.

    This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to you for listening. Please subscribe and rate the show, and share it with friends and colleagues you think might enjoy it. Follow our host Ian on LinkedIn.

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    1 hr and 7 mins
  • E38: Demonslayer talks Vietnamese creativity in Hollywood and reviving rare 80s V-Wave
    Oct 8 2024

    Meet artist, DJ and producer Dan Nguyen, or Demonslayer. From archiving and reviving Californian V-wave from the 80s to DJing the Hollywood premiere of HBO's The Sympathizer, Dan has been representing Vietnamese creativity for as long as we can remember. Today, he tells us why Vietnam is finally getting the global recognition it deserves, what it was like growing up in a Vietnamese household in L.A, and what shocks him most when he returns.

    This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to you for listening. Please subscribe and rate the show, and share it with friends and colleagues you think might enjoy it. Follow our host Ian on LinkedIn.

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    35 mins
  • E37: The challenge of being a modern Vietnamese mum - and why they manage the money!
    Sep 24 2024

    Diep Hoang is a content creator and mother and baby influencer on the channel Love At First Shine. She also has a podcast with her husband where they talk openly about the challenges faced by couples in the modern Vietnamese family. On this episode of You Don't Know Vietnam Diep tells us about the pressures faced by young mums in Vietnam and how she juggles traditional Vietnamese values with modern parenting. She also shares how the Vietnamese family is changing, how Vietnamese women have all the purchasing power, and what brands should consider when attempting to market their products to them.

    This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to you for listening. Please subscribe and rate the show, and share it with friends and colleagues you think might enjoy it. Follow our host Ian on LinkedIn.

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    28 mins
  • E36: Why doing business in Vietnam is an uphill battle (and how to win)
    Aug 27 2024

    Marina Tran-Vu is the founder and CEO of EQUO, a Vietnam-based startup that produces eco-friendly products to tackle the big problem of single use plastics. EQUO makes everything from takeaway food containers and cutlery to tote bags, tumblers and super cute pencils you can plant once you're done drawing. Today, Marina tells me why she chose Vietnam as a place to tackle plastic and whether or not Vietnamese consumers care about sustainability. She shares why Vietnam is a difficult place to do business and how -- rather than giving her the boost she needed -- her appearance on Shark Tank Vietnam dramatically dented her confidence as a founder.

    This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to you for listening. Please subscribe and rate the show, and share it with friends and colleagues you think might enjoy it. Follow our host Ian on LinkedIn.

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    34 mins
  • E35: The rise of craft, "speakeasies", and Vietnam's first ever whiskey distillery
    Aug 13 2024

    Michael Rosen is a co-founder of Về để đi Spirits, a contemporary liquor brand and distillery making craft gin, rum, creme de cacao, triple sec and... wait for it... whiskey. Today, Michael tells me why Vietnam is surprisingly good for distilling whiskey (maybe even better than Scotland?). He tells me why Về để đi celebrates the unpredictable energy of urban Vietnam in its brand positioning, and what's going on with Vietnam's explosion of cocktail bars. He also shares why the time is now for Vietnamese products, brands and culture, and why you'll need resilience with a sprinkling of stupidity to succeed in business here.

    This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to you for listening. Please subscribe and rate the show, and share it with friends and colleagues you think might enjoy it. Follow our host Ian on LinkedIn.

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    37 mins
  • E34: Viet Rap to Viet Rave: Producer Nodey talks Vietnam's soundscape
    Jul 30 2024

    Hailing from the graffitied streets of Paris, Nodey came to Vietnam to explore his Vietnamese roots through music. The result? His unique sound inspired by old school hip hop, high tempo electronic music, and Vietnamese samples. Plus, a great studio album called ":-)", an epic music video for the song Đôi Khi featuring Suboi, as well as regular 3am appearances gracing Vietnam's nightclub scene with his high-energy sounds. Today, Nodey shares why the pandemic was a watershed moment for the Vietnam's homegrown music scene, which Vietnamese artists you should be looking out for now, and all the reasons he is very happy calling Vietnam home... for now. Listen and follow Nodey on Spotify and Apple.

    This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to you for listening. Please subscribe and rate the show, and share it with friends and colleagues you think might enjoy it. Follow our host Ian on LinkedIn.

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    31 mins
  • E33: Communal upbringings, gossip, and their impact on marketing in Vietnam
    Jul 16 2024

    Linh Dao Smooke is the COO of Hackernoon, a tech community website that has more than 45,000 contributing writers and millions of readers each month. But today, me and Linh talk about pretty much everything EXCEPT Hackernoon. From how she thinks Vietnam is perceived by people in America, to her experiences being raised the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter, and what shocks her most when she returns to Vietnam today. We also talk about the importance of brands earning trust with word of mouth and social media in Vietnam, and why stubborn global brand directors often miss the mark with their local marketing efforts.

    This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to you for listening. Please subscribe and rate the show, and share it with friends and colleagues you think might enjoy it. Follow our host Ian on LinkedIn.

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    39 mins