In Vietnam, the beer market is usually driven by classic on-ground activations to trigger trials such as beer sampling in supermarkets, but essentially at night in bars/pubs, big outdoor events and restaurants. Additionally, the market is aggressive, spending millions of USD on media and promotions to keep their prices low, and their availability wide.

To compete with the big players we used their advantages against them. By approaching targets in regular streets all day with automatic vending machines driven-response, we gave them a chance to experience a premium beer at the price of the cheapest.

As a beer-drinking country, the market in Vietnam is highly saturated, making it hard for independent craft beer breweries to penetrate the market. Belgo, a Belgian beer brewery established in 2016 in Vietnam, brews its beer with the highest quality ingredients, imported from Belgium. As a result, the price ($2.20) is 4x higher compared to mass-market beers ($0.55). Even with a noticeable higher quality product, it’s difficult to convince Vietnamese beer drinkers to even try a more expensive beer compared to the one they’ve been drinking for years. Especially since the mass market beers are available at any mom & pop shop around.

Thankfully, all we need to do to convince people about Belgo is to let them try it. So, how do we convince people who drink cheap, mass-market beer to ignore their brew for a tasty Belgo that’s 4x the price?

We used our competitors price and availability advantage against them with ‘Belgo Beer Currency'. We turned mass market beer into a currency by making it possible to pay for a Belgo with a cheaper beer.

To kick-off the campaign we created unique vending machines that accept beer cans as a form of payment and dispense a cold, delicious Belgo in return. These vending machines were spread across Ho Chi Minh City next to mass market beers’ point of sales like convenient stores and bars.

Videos of the machine lit up social media, attracting millions of views and thousands of visitors to its locations. As a result, The vending machines ran out quicker than we could restock, so we extended the offer to the stores too. After the promotion ended, we delivered thousands of beer cans back to our competitors with a thank you note, definitely attracting their attention.

Beer drinkers in Vietnam are incredibly loyal. Even the higher income segments prefer their usual, cheap mass-market beer above trying something new. So to make sure people try a Belgo beer, we need to overcome their barriers and let them experience firsthand why Belgo is worth the price while growing brand recognition. Instead of pretending not to compete with mass-market beers, we took the battle head-on.

We created several vending machines that allow people to insert a can of cheap beer in exchange for a Belgo. These were spread across 4 key locations in Ho Chi Minh City. A promotion video was made, showing people using the vending machines. This video attracted millions of views and caused thousands of people to also try the promo out. Due to its success, the promo was extended to Belgo’s bars and restaurants, where you could swap your beers without a vending machine too.

- Timeline: 1 month, November 2022

- Placement: 4 locations in Ho Chi Minh City (District 1, 2, 4, 7)

- Scale: Ho Chi Minh city

Impact: Increase in Brand awareness and consideration, sales and traffic at Belgo pub restaurants (38%)

The Activation was an Internet breakout, earning overall 5 Million Impression & Over 1,5 Million Video Views across social media. It made PR Headlines not just in renowned publications in Vietnam but also 12 other countries globally, including Metro Publication - the most read newspaper in Belgium. A total earned media value of $150,000, with just under $3,000 budget in media investment; just like how our customers get the chance to taste the premium flavor of Belgian craft beer, with just one can of cheap beer.

Most importantly, it drives a 38%+ increase in Sales & Traffic towards Belgo Pub Restaurants across Ho Chi Minh City, giving Saigonese the chance to "taste the difference"& helping Belgo gain praises from other local craft beer partners as well as big commercial beer players in the market themselves

In Vietnam, the beer market is usually driven by classic on-ground activations to trigger trials such as beer sampling in supermarkets, bars/pubs, and restaurants. Additionally, the beer brands approach the market with aggressive promotion, spending millions of USD on media and promotions to keep their prices low, and their availability wide.

To be able to compete with them we used their advantages against them. Literally.