Marketing Communication strategy for Holcim Vietnam to increase market share in construction crisis

TRNG ĐI HC M TP. HCM UNIVERSITÉ LIBRE DE BRUXELLES
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY SOLVAY BRUSSELS SCHOOL
ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT

MMA6




Authors
NGO HUNG QUY
PHAN MINH HIEP




Marketing Communication strategy for Holcim Vietnam
to increase market share in construction crisis






MASTER PROJECT
MASTER IN MARKETING & ADVERTISING

Tutor: SERGE BYWALSKI




HO CHI MINH CITY
(2013)
Page 1





COMMITMENT

We commit that this project is our own study.
Information and Data base in the thesis are honest.

Candidate:
NGO HUNG QUY PHAN MINH HIEP

Page 2

THANKS
First of all, we would like to thank to Prof. Philippe Biltau and Prof. Alain Van
den Eynde who have saved time to review, approve, and guide scientifically our
project during mid-term interview. Thanks for your great comments in order to
make our project meaningful and highly scientific.
Deeply thanks to our tutor - Serge Bywalski who has helped to guide us to
finish our project on time.
Special thanks to Co-Directors Prof. Jean-Pierre Baeyens who has always
motivated us during the 2 years of study and this final project.
Thanks to members in sales and marketing department in Holcim (Vietnam)
Ltd who have enthusiastically helped and provided full information and data to
prove the detailed matters studied in the project.
Thanks to our colleagues who have shared our daily works and helped us
some data.
Finally, thanks to our family and our bosses who have given us much time to
finish my project on time.
Without your helps, it will be more difficult for us to finish our project. Once
again, thank you very much.

NGO HUNG QUY & PHAN MINH HIEP



Page 3

INDEX
Contents Page
Commitment 01
Thanks 02
Index 03
Initial Index 06
List of tables/Charts 07
Chapter I. CURRENT SITUATION 08
A. COMPANY BACKGROUND 08
B. MARKET OVERVIEW 10
 V      2012 10
2. Production and consumption in Vietnam in 2012 10
3. Market size in 3 geographic areas 11
4. Key players in Southern Vietnam 11
C. CURRENT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS 12
1. To Prospective Homebuilders 12
1.1 Cung Xay To Am campaign 12
1.2 Vung Xay Cuoc Song Website 14
1.3 Holcim Prize 16
2. To Distributors  Dong Hanh project 16
3. To Contractors  Organizing seminars/workshops 17
Chapter II. CUNG XAY TO AM CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS 18
A. Campaign objectives: 18
B. Target customer profile 20

Page 4

1. Geography 20
2. Demography 20
2.1. Gender 20
2.2. Age group 21
2.3. Social Economic Classes 21
3. Psychographic characteristics 21
3.1. Interests and habits 21
3.2. Media usage 22
3.3. General personality 22
3.4. Attitudes 22
3.5. Cement Buying Behavior 22
C. Insights 23
D. Campaign Execution 24
1. Pre-launch 24
2. Launch 25
3. Post-launch 27
E. Achievement 27
1. Market share 27
2. The key driver to increase market share 27
F. Competitor Analysis 31
1. Productive capacity 31
2. Competitive Capacity 31
3. Product and Pricing Strategy 32
3.1. Price policy 32
Page 5

3.2. Products 32
G. SWOT Analysis 32

Chapter III. MARCOM STRATEGY FOR HOLCIM VIETNAM IN THE NEXT 02 YEARS
(2013  2015) 34
A. Market analysis in 2012 and forecast 2013 34
B. Marcom strategy 34
1. To Prospective Home Builders 34
1.1. New positioning 34
1.2. Target Customers 35
1.3. Customer insights 36
1.4. Objectives 36
1.5. Core Messages 37
1.6. Media channel choices 37
1.6.1. Television 37
1.6.2. Digital channel 39
1.6.3. Out of home advertising 41
2. To Distributors 41
3. L M 42
4. Budget Allocation & Key Performance Indicators 43
Chapter IV. Conclusion 45
Reference 46





Page 6

INITIAL INDEX
VNCC: Vietnam Cement Corporation.
VICEM: Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation.
TCVN: Vietnamese standard.

Cung Xay To Am: Building sweet home together.
Vung Xay Cuoc Song: Building sustainable life.
To am uoc mo: Dreaming home.
Chia se hanh hanh phuc vung ben: Sharing sustainable happy moments.
Dong Hanh: Companion, cooperation.
FTHO: First Time Homeowner.
HCMC: Ho Chi Minh city.
TV: Television.
BEI: Brand Equity Index.
Marcom: Marketing Communication.
TVC: Television Commercial.
S.E.O: Search engine optimization








Page 7

LIST OF TABLES/CHARTS
Tables/Charts Page
Table 1: V cement market growth from 2008  2012 10
Chart 2: Production and consumption in Vietnam in 2012 10
Chart 3: Market size in 3 geographic areas 2001 - 2011 11
Chart 4: Key players in Southern Vietnam 11
Table 5: Current marketing activities 12
T  C X T A  Road map 13

T  C X T A   14
Chart 8: Customer life cycle 21
Chart 9: Sources of influence 22
Chart 10: Important Factors in Deciding on Cement Brands 23
Chart 11: Advertising spend on digital 24
Table 12: Market share before and after Cung Xay To Am campaign 27
Chart 13: Brand Equity Index 2008 29
Chart 14: Brand Equity Index 2011 29
Chart 15: Brand Equity Index by Target Group 29
Chart 16: Brand Equity Driver Model 30
Chart 17: The key driver to increase market share 30
Table 18: SWOT Analysis 32
Table 19: Target customer segmentation 35
Table 20: Launching plan 42
Chart 21 & 22: Budget Allocation 43
Table 23: Cost for the project 43
Table 24: Key performance indicators 44




Page 8

Chapter I
CURRENT SITUATION
A. COMPANY BACKGROUND
Holcim (Vietnam) Ltd (Holcim Vietnam) is a member of Holcim Ltd which is a
global company employing some 80,000 people with production sites in more than 70
countries. Holcim Vietnam is the second biggest supplier of cement and ready-mix in
Southern Vietnam.

Corporate profile
Holcim Vietnam, formerly known until 2002 as Morning Star Cement Ltd (Xi Mang
Sao Mai) was registered in February 1994, is a joint-venture company between Holcim Ltd
and Vietnam Cement Corporation (VNCC), now Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation
(VICEM) - a state-owned enterprise of Vietnam. In August 2008, Holcim Vietnam was re-
registered under the new Law on Enterprise as a limited liability company with two
members - Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (VICEM) and Holcim Ltd. that
respectively contributed in the Company 35% and 65% of its charter capital.
Holcim Vietnam currently employs around 1,500 people at its 4 technologically
advanced cement production sites and 8 modern ready-mix concrete batching plants in
addition to the Ho Chi Minh city office.
Vision
Company vision is to provide    
Mission
Company mission is to be the one of the world's most respected and attractive
company in the cement industry - creating value for all stakeholders.
Product portfolio for housing construction
 Holcim Top Standard (Bag 50kg)
Holcim Top Standard is a high quality Portland Blended
Cement that is so versatile it can be used for foundations,
columns, slab concrete, bricklaying/ plastering and finishing
works. A strong foundation requires concrete to have high
strength and consistency while for columns, where the formwork
needs to be removed quickly, concrete must be fast setting and
should have high compressive strength. Applications such as
bricklaying/plastering as well as finishing works, require cement
with better plasticity and a smoother finish, along with
dimensional stability and low water absorption.
Holcim Top Standard
Page 9

Holcim Top Standard meets the Vietnamese standard TCVN 6260:1997 PCB 40.
Holcim top standard has many optimized cement characteristics that benefit
customers, whether they work with plaster/mortar or concrete.
Plaster/mortar
Holcim top standard has high water retention and plasticity, giving an easier and
smoother finish with less water absorption. This reduces building time and leads to a
reduction in costs, as well as longer lasting buildings. Holcim Top Standard has good
setting time. This reduces the time taken to rework a layer and helps customers lay more
layers of brick each day. Not only does this save building time and costs but it also limits
the risk of fresh wall collapses.
Holcim Top Standard has early strength development. This leads to higher stability
of masonry wall and reduces the risk of wall collapses.
Concrete
Holcim Top Standard has low water demand. This helps in building longer lasting
and watertight buildings with fewer cracks and shrinkage.
Holcim Top Standard has good strength development. This helps in faster removal
of formwork and higher final strength. Not only do customers get longer lasting buildings
but they also save on building time and costs.
 Holcim Home Beton: comprises of
o Home Beton Ground
o Home Beton Slab
o Home Beton Column
o Home Beton Roof
o Home Beton Waterproof
o Home Beton Lean

 Service: Free Technical Consultancy to provide the useful knowledge to assist owners
in the supervision of concrete pouring and advice on the proper compaction, curing
skills and surface smoothness that will reduce the possibility of cracking and

maximize the strength and durability of Holcim Vietnam products.





Page 10

B. MARKET OVERVIEW
Vietnam cement market
Strong Vietnamese economic growth had been expected to keep cement demand
growth steady in the medium-term and export was expected to rise further. But global
economic crisis in end of 2008 led Vietnam construction industry dropped rapidly since
2011.
1. V arket growth from 2008  2012

Source: Vietnam National Cement Association (Unit: million ton)
2. Production and consumption in Vietnam in 2012

Source: Vietnam National Cement Association
In 2012, the cement industry has a capacity of about 70 million tons, output is
expected to reach 60 to 62 million tons, while domestic demand in 2012 is estimated at
40.11
45.44
50.2
49.26
48
0
20
40

60
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Cement consumption
Local consumption
48
Export
8
Inventory
6
Output: 62 million tons
Page 11

47 - 48 million tons; striving to export 7-8 million tons, a total of 54 - 56 million tons.
Therefore, the expected surplus is about 6 million tons.
3. Market size in 3 geographic areas. 2001 - 2011

Source: Vietnam National Cement Association
4. Key players in Southern Vietnam


Source: Bao Viet Securities Company, (2012)
In southern Vietnam, Ha Tien and Holcim Vietnam lead the market, the followings:
Fico and Tay Do gains significant market shares
North
49.29%
Central
16.49%
South
34.22%
Ha Tien

26.10%
Holcim
24.30%
Fico
9.30%
Tay Do
3.90%
Others
36.40%
Page 12

C. CURRENT MARKETING CAMPAIGNS
Holcim Vietnam is not only target to distributors and contractors same as other
cement companies, but the key campaign  Cung Xay To Am - aims to end-users, the
prospective homebuilders. This is the point of different in marketing campaigns of Holcim
Vietnam from other cement companies
Current marketing activities
Target
Campaign
Prospective Homebuilders
Cung Xay To Am
Holcim Prize
Distributors
Dong Hanh
Contractors
Seminars/Workshops

1. To Prospective Homebuilders (End-users)
1.1. Cung Xay To Am campaign
Launched in 2008, Cung Xay To Am campaign had been hold

yearly at big provinces and cities in Southern Vietnam, the campaign
targets to married male who are going to build their own house.
Campaign objectives:
- To build brand awareness of the Holcim Top Standard and subsequently Corporate
Holcim brand in the homebuilder market.
- To reinforce Holcim brand essence that Holcim Vietnam will provide all of
            
.
- Bring more values added services to the first time homeowner in urban areas.

Key activities:
 Online:
o Create website
www.cungxaytoam.com.vn for people who want to search
all information and share experience when building a house.
o Provides online version of the booklet, house samples & designs, and
guidance for fengshui.
 Events:
o House samples and designs exhibition celebrate at big cities and provinces
in Southern Vietnam.
o Complimentary booklet to visitors.
o Home construction consultancy: materials, costs etc.
 Seminars:
o Popular house construction topics such as: fengshui, interior designetc.

Page 13

 Hotline
o Cement: provide all information related to Holcim Top Standard, where
they can find Holci 

o Home construction advice
o Booklet ordering service

Road map
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
First Time
Homeowner
(FTHO)
Program
conducted in
HCMC, Dong
Nai, Long An
FTHO Program
conducted in
HCMC, Dong Nai,
Long An
FTHO Program
conducted in
HCMC, Dong Nai,
Binh Duong, Long
An
FTHO Program
conducted in
HCMC, Dong
Nai, Binh
Duong, Vung

Tau, Can Tho
Upgrade to
Vung Xay
Cuoc Song
website with
the new
brand
positioning:
 
 to
become
more
interactive
and bring
added values
to end-users.
FTHO Program
Seminars /
Events /
Hotline / Web
Site / Booklet
FTHO Program
Seminars / Events
/ Hotline / Web
Site / Booklet
FTHO Program
Seminars / Events
/ Hotline / Web
Site / Booklet
FTHO Program

Seminars /
Events /
Hotline / Web
Site / Booklet
Consultancy
Centers
Feasibility
study in HCMC
Consultancy
Centers
Feasibility study
in HCMC
Consultancy
Centers Pilot in
HCMC
Consultancy
Centers
Piloted in Semi
Urban

Partnership
Selection of Key
suppliers
Partnership with
Other
construction
suppliers
Partnership
with Other
construction

suppliers


Low Cost Housing
Program
Feasibility
Low Cost
Housing
Program Pilot
Align Consultancy
Centers Club in
line with FTHO
program
Align
Consultancy
Centers Club in
line with FTHO
program





Page 14

Some figures
Cung Xay To Am
2008
2009
2010

2011
Number of Visitors
9,000
10,000
10,400
9,850
Downloads Booklet from
Website
21,000
38,000
45,000
48,000
Number of Printed
Booklet issued
120,000
130,000
150,000
150,000
Number of House Samples
& Design issued
0
0
20,000
25,000
Source: Marketing Dept.  Holcim Vietnam
1.2. Vung Xay Cuoc Song Website  The upgrade version of Cung Xay To Am
In early 2012, the company renewed Cung Xay To Am website in the occasion of 100
years ceremony by Vung Xay Cuoc Song website. It was re-built to be more interactive site
where potential customers, investors and contractors can share their knowledge in
housing construction. The website includes following figures

- Sample models of beautiful houses
- Interior decoration
- Guidance articles about fengshui
- Live chat and forum to share experiences
- Smaller house design with more information
- Online consultancy
- Material showroom
- Guidance articles about architecture
- Style/decoration
- Cost calculation program
- Guidance articles about materials

Vung Xay Cuoc Song website
Page 15

Objectives:
- Being the first social network for home builders.
- Set up new brand positioning: Proud of 100 years  build for life
To motivate the prospective homebuilders to the website, T    project
was launched from Aug 20
th
to Sep 20
th
2012. All participants need to provide a picture
about their dream house and give short explanations (max. 200 words) why choosing it.
The winner will get a LG P  TV and lot of valuable gifts.

To am uoc mo banner
C            
account at

www.vungxaycuocsong.vn and then sharing happiest moments and feelings
with their family at home (enclosed with photos). The event is from Dec 17
th
2012 to Jan
17
th
2013.

Chia se hanh hanh phuc vung ben banner
Print ads launched in 19th March 2012 on 32 frames and 1077 LCD at major
office/building grade A and B in Ho Chi Minh City.

Print ads
Page 16

1.3 Holcim Prize
Launched in 2009, the Holcim Prize honors university students for contributions to
sustainable development in 3 areas:
- Community development
- Environmental protection
- Sustainable construction
Participating universities are Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology, Can Tho
University, Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi University of Architecture and Ho Chi Minh
City University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Da Nang university of Technology
and Ho Chi Minh City Technical Education University.
The Holcim Prize competition not only rewards innovative ideas but also offers
opportunities for real-world application. By doing this, students are challenged in
          
performance and societal contribution.
The Holcim Prize will be expanded progressively to other national universities in

2012 forward.
Objectives:
- To support students to position themselves among the young researchers.
- To promote contributions to sustainable development in Vietnam through applied
science researches among the youth.
- To honor outstanding initiatives with best applications complimenting to
sustainable development.
- Develop brand awareness to young people who will be homeowners/contractors
in the future.
2. To Distributors  Dong Hanh project
Objectives:
- Increase sales volume.
- Improve recommendation of Holcim brand to retailers and homebuilders.
- Build/Enhance good relationship to distributors.
Key activities:
- Monthly, Quarterly , Yearly Incentive (free cement, discounts) for distributors
- Supporting distributors at market & competitor analysis, market trends forecast
and sales volume.
Page 17

- Annual Year-End & V.I.P party, free travel tour for distributors who reached sales
target.
3. To Contractors  Organizing seminars/workshops
Objectives:
- Increase Top of Mind and build brand preference.
- Improve recommendation of Holcim brand to home builders.
- Build / enhance good relationship to contractors.
- Improve plastering perception.
Key activities:
- Celebrate contractor workshop at Holcim Vietnams sites (leverage Holcim

Vietnam Centennial to strengthen positioning ; apply to test product/technical
support  Bind test activity)
- Issue technical handbook to contractors (more practical with Holcim Vietnam
cement new positioning; Endorsed by a credible source)
- Testimonials by contractors who experienced with Holcim Vietnam.













Page 18

Chapter II
CUNG XAY TO AM CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS
Cung Xay To Am campaign is the biggest campaign in cement industry targeting to
  the point of different among marketing activities of cement companies.
Thus, we focus on analyzing this campaign to figure out its success and restriction.
Supply and demand of domestic cement output has been unbalanced after supply
has rapidly been increasing for many years continuously, and demand has been dropping
in recent two years due to the bad economic crisis led to construction crisis. Local cement
volume is in big surplus in 2011 & 2012. Struggle for survival by fighting for market share
is the matter of survival in this period. In Southern Vietnam, Ha Tien continues to be as a

major player in this sector. Holcim Vietnam is the second largest cement producer in the
South after ten years actively exploring Vietnam market. In order to gain a better sales
and market share, Holcim Vietnam created totally new and differentiated marketing
campaigns to build awareness and compete to its competitors.
While all cement companies concentrated on distributors to run push-sales
campaigns, in 2008, Holcim Vietnam launched Cung Xay To Am campaign targeting mainly
to prospective homebuilders. It is a totally new way to approach and change the
purchasing behavior of customers.
A. Campaign objectives
Cung Xay To Am campaign objectives were not only about raising awareness of
the Holcim Top Standard and subsequently corporate Holcim brand in the homebuilder
market, but the most important objective of this campaign is to change the behavior of
cement purchasing of Vietnamese people.
W   M  right d Holcim Vietnam delivered to
prospective homebuilders necessary information to make their consideration in decision
stage of purchasing.
 Cement is a specific product with technical figures; most of homebuilders do not
understand about product specification and do not be able to judge which product is
better than others while making purchasing decision. To evaluate the durability of
cement they need many years to get the result, and the durability of a construction
depends on many elements such as geological structure, the foundation, the internal
  T          
homebuilders. In order to be peace of mind in their decision, homebuilders usually ask
advices from others who have experienced with cement such as distributors/retailers,
Page 19

builders, or friends who have just built thei  U   
information from homebuilders, Holcim Vietnam launched Cung Xay To Am campaign
to transfer all the product information to homebuilders in an understandable way.
Thus, homebuilders will be confident to make decision on choosing a cement brand

for their beloved house.
 Cement is a low cost product and has large volume. Due to its heavy weight and
unclear differentiation between brands, homebuilders often buy the brand which is
available. On the other hand the distribution cost places an important role in the cost
structure of cement. The cost will increase significantly corresponding to the
availability of cement. Moreover, the distributors and retailers are also the key
recommenders to homebuilders when choosing cement brands due to their technical
knowledge and experience of cement products. That is the reason why most of
cement companies only focus on distribution campaigns which support distributors
and retailers to make a good availability of their cement. In addition, cement
companies only take care their distributors with full of benefits and forget the
homebuilders who are the most important in cement purchase because they are the
final decision makers and the payers for the purchase. Holcim Vietnam recognized the
importance of this target group and approached the market in different direction
from others. The Cung Xay To Am campaign educates the homebuilders with full
knowledge about cement, therefore homebuilders can be confident to make the
  T       
cement brand because of its availability to seeking for their favorite brands.
 L              
other communication Medias. Thanks to Web 2.0, all information is public and easily
communicates without geographic obstacle. Thus, building a house is not just as
simple as in the past when homebuilders based mainly on advices from contractors
and/or construction engineers, they are now playing very important role in
construction processes. They take care about the details of their construction. In
addition, they have to face with many things such as: budget management,
      T 
are getting smarter and smarter while dealing with purchasing processes. As the
trend, homebuilders need to have a platform where they can be consulted and shared
knowledge, experience of house building, discussed about fengshui (a part of
Vietnamese spiritual life).

Understanding the curiosity and the trend of homebuilders, Holcim Vietnam
launched the Cung Xay To Am campaign to satisfy the homebuilders, it was also the first
biggest marketing campaign that a cement company held to their end-users in Vietnam.
Once the homebuilders understand how Holcim Vietnam cares their needs, the image of
Holcim brand will be friendlier in their mind.
Page 20

As a fact in the society, while a distributor recommends a cement brand to
homebuilders, the distributor would have some benefit from the cement company such
   H   o recognize the higher price they
may have to pay to include those benefits. Therefore, they now rely more and more on
their own consideration by seeking information on internet as well as from their friends
and relatives. Most other cement companies concentrate on the distributors will have a
bad image of the above benefit. But with assistances by specialists, Cung Xay To Am
campaign targets and takes care of homebuilders and builds an image of friendliness with
homebuilders. As a consequence, homebuilders will believe the price they buy Holcim
T “            
Holcim Vietnam.
As the first cement company training homebuilders about cement specification
and other details in construction process, it is a big idea while Holcim Vietnam considered
cement  a specific product  the same as other regular products. And this is also an
ambition while Holcim Vietnam       
cement brand because of its availability or recommended one to seeking for their favorite
brands. Applying this pull campaign successfully, it is a faster process for Holcim Vietnam
to gain market share compared with expanding distribution network to compete with a
large distribution network of its biggest competitor  Ha Tien.
B. Cung Xay To Am target customer profile
1. Geography: Cities and Provinces in South of Vietnam.
In the North, cement market is very fragmented with many big competitors that
lead to a tough competition. In the South, the dynamic economy supports construction

market more aggressive, while there are fewer competitors. To be more concentrate on
its operation, Holcim Vietnam only operates in the South of Vietnam. This is also the
target market for Cung Xay To Am campaign.
2. Demography
2.1. Gender: Married male.
The man plays the most important role in big projects. He is the key decision
maker, especially projects with complicatedly technical requirements because men are
interesting on products with complicated technical specification than women. This is also
a Vietnamese tradition; women often leave the big projects for the men to make decision.
Understand the behavior in Vietnamese families, Cung Xay To Am campaign profiles its
target group to married males, this is the direct approach to final decision - makers for
cement product.

Page 21

2.2. Age group: 30 years old to 60 years old.
Understanding customer expenditure cycle, after working for ten years with a
serious saving program, the employees can have enough savings to build their first sweet
house.

2.3. Social Economic Classes: A, B and C
Obviously, building a house is one of biggest project of people life in Vietnam,
especially in this high inflation rate period. Building a house may cost the whole - life
savings of some people. People in A, B class can effort to build their house earlier, while
class C need longer time for savings. The target customers are in the age of working, most
of them are employees in companies, and some of them do their own business.
3. Psychographic characteristics
3.1. Interests and habits
The target customers often:
- Work and commute from 7 a.m to about 7 p.m daily.

- Some of them will take the kids to schools.
- Have coffee with friends in early mornings and evenings
- Drink with friend.
- Love brands: Craven A/Jet (Tobacco); Tiger/Saigon Red (Beer); Honda/Yamaha
(Motorcycle) Apple, and Mid-ranged Nokia mobile phones
- Discuss about sports, politics, news, money, family
- Go out with family and/or friends (eat, drive around city, ice-cream, go to the
park)
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3.2. Media usage
The target customers spend plenty of time on media consumption, they update
news by reading newspapers, seek information and sharing experiences in social
networks, spend time for leisure on television, listen to Radio while driving to offices
3.3. General personality
They are at the best energy and experience for working, therefore they are very
optimistic and dynamic. On the other hand, this is the age to decide the success or failure
   T            T 
for their decision, they often ask advices from pioneers, specialists and search
information from Internet.
Most of them are independent, decisive; they are responsible for their decision.
3.4. Attitudes
The target customers love good brand. In cement products, Ha Tien is the first top
of mind as the oldest cement brand in Vietnam. In their mind, long-life brand is judged as
a good brand and good quality, because its product has been evaluated buy users for long
time. It can prove the quality after some generation using it. Holcim Vietnam - the new
comer compared with Ha Tien - is considered as international brand which care about the
environmental issues and good customer services.
3.5. Cement Buying Behavior

Source: Nielsen research, (2011)
90
70
50
78
3
30
14
3
0
0
52
33
7
6
2
1
0
0
0
0
0 20 40 60 80 100
My family/Relatives
Contractors
Cement sellers/retailers
My friends
Exhibitions/fairs
TVC
Newspapers
Magazins

Seminars/Workshops/Events
Websites
Sources of influence
( n = 300**)
Most influence sources All Sources
Page 23

Recently, homebuilders have been getting more and more involved in purchasing.
According to a Nielsen research: 74% of homebuilders claimed that they purchased
cement by themselves while 14% are by someone in their family, and 12% are by
contractors.
Also from Nielsen research, in order to get their final decision, most of
homebuilders make decision on cement purchase with the influence of their relatives,
friends, contractors, and retailers.
W         A  
most of cement companies concentrate on push campaign  targeting to distributors.
Therefore there is no platform in this industry. The homebuilders cannot find the reliable
information and consultancy websites. In the same logic of push marketing, the cement
companies do not organize any seminars or events where the homebuilders can attend to
get information.
In conclusion: as all above analysis, Cung Xay To Am campaign targets to the right
decision making group. That is male with age from 30 to 60 years old, in the South of
V C A B  C I a right targeting, but not enough. The campaign forgets
the sources of influence that play an important role in consideration of the target. A wife
in a family also is important on the decision of her husband. Moreover, a great decision
needs to be agreed by both husband and wife.
C. Insights
A           The house where family,
freedom, pride and the future comes together. I       
building a life together and choosing the right cement brand gives them peace of mind

     
- To have a peace of mind while living in a good quality house, the homeowners
take serious consideration on the quality of cement. It is the most important
factor in their decision.
- There is no statistic on the quality of current cements in the market, most of
homeowners believe that, well-known brands are good quality.
- There are a few type of cement and the products from various plants can replace
for each other. This makes the product price become important parameters for
sales. (Inflation is still high in this period of time, customer do more care about
 
100
94
69
68
43
24
61
17
19
3
0
0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Product quality
Price
Brand
Product availability
Recommendation from others
Promotion
Most important factors Important factors

Source: Nielsen research, (2011)





Page 24

- Most of them are the first time homebuilders so they are lack of knowledge and
experience on product and need a recommendation from others. Their friends,
relatives - who have just built a house - and contractors are the best choices based
on the reliability and experience of information.
D. Cung Xay To Am C Execution
1. Pre-launch
The main activity in this first step to recall attention to Cung Xay To Am campaign,
Holcim Vietnam used print ads and advertorials on both newspaper and online news
website.
- Print ads and Advertorials on Thanh nien newspaper. There are two famous daily
newspapers in Vietnam: Tuoi Tre and Thanh Nien newspapers. There are some
reasons that Holcim Vietnam had chosen Thanh Nien as the key media vehicle to
communicate to its customer:
 Thanh Nien newspaper is better fit to target group than Tuoi Tre newspaper. The
target readers of Thanh Nien are older than Tuoi Tre. This is better choice for Cung
Xay To Am campaign with the target group from 30-60 years old.
 Tuoi Tre is an ideal vehicle for advertising products in FMCG category while Thanh
Nien tends to be an informative newspaper (focus on quality of articles and
products which are advertised on it).
 On the other hand, the cost for print ads and advertorials on Thanh Nien
newspaper is 18%-20% lower than Tuoi Tre newspaper. This is not the key
consideration, but better fit to target customers with better cost is a great choice

when Holcim Vietnam chose Thanh Nien newspaper as the key media vehicle in
this campaign.
- Buying ads banners on two online newspapers  www.vnexpress.net;
www.24h.com.vn. Those two online sites gain the majority of internet users, who
are seeking for news.

Ad spend on digital Source: Kanta Media,
(2011)