Deal is good PR for fledgling industry

What are you expecting from signing the joint venture agreement with WPP?

T&A Communications has a long history of cooperation with Ogilvy & Mather, a wholly owned subsidiary of WPP. Since the first day of cooperation in 2002, we have received strong support from both Ogilvy and WPP to acquire the best global practices in marketing communication and organisational management. Thanks to their long-standing support, we have grown from a small boutique agency to become ome of the leading PR firms in Vietnam.

The objective of this join venture is very clear. We want to combine our local insight with the international best practices of the gaints in communication to provide the highets quality and most comprehensive public relations services to our clients. T&A is very strong in public affairs, media relations and crisis managementat, now with T&A-Ogilvy we can expand our services to internal communication, investor relations, social marketing, digital and pharmaceutical communication.

Not only can we tap in Ogilvy and WPP’s vast network of talent and resources, but this new joint venture will allow us to parter up with our sister companies in the region to expand our services to Vietnamese brands that are looking to enter regional and global markets.

Moreover, the partnership will enable us to benefit from the rich knowledge and experience of the world’s largest communication giants, eventually to develop a talent pool that synergises the local insight and international best practices in public relations.

What is T&A-Ogilvy’s strategy for the future as being a part in one of the leading global communication firms?

We will focus on offering a complete 3600 communication strategy for our clients, especially the local brands, many of who still lack a strong communication strategy to compete in an increasingly complex and globalised market in Vietnam in recent years.

We will take advantage of the network and resources that the international agencies under WPP provide, coupled with our experiences in the local market, to offer the most valuable services for existing and future clients.

WPP has shaken hands with other communication companies in Vietnam and global communication giants are seeking to enter Vietnamese market. What are the disadvantages and advantages of this trend against local players?

With only about 15 years of development, the communication market in Vietnam is still young, with vast potentials that remain untapped. T&A is not the only company benefiting from foreign communication firms’ tremendous interest in the market. We believe that the opportunities are a good sign for the market, as experienced agencies will bring in strong expertise needed to develop the local industry. Of course, this will definitely mean more competition for the local players but the tension will fuel the drive for growth.

Under the stress of competition, the local companies will have to step up, improve their services and keep themselves up to date with the latest communication trends to be able to compete with their foreign counterparts. The win-win solution for everyone is to match local insight with the international expertise to provide the best communication services for the clients.

How do you rank Vietnam’s communication industry with other regional countries? What are the challenges local firms need to overcome?

Like I’ve said, the communication industry in Vietnam is still at its early stage of development and still has much room to grow. It will take us some time to catch up with the developed countries.

With that said, the opportunities in Vietnam are so huge that the process of developing our communication practices will be much quicker than other countries. The main challenge for us is not about the lack of experience or capital but the lack of talent and human resources.

With the boom of the communication market, the demand for quality talent and human resources is also rising. However, communication is still a new field in Vietnam where there are very few schools providing proper training in PR or advertising. Moreover, students also need a lot of practice to hone the right capacity to cope with the stress that they will meet in the communication field, where the right attitude, innovation and ethical are very essential.