Agencies left in the dark after Vietnam Airlines' cancelled pitch

A VNA spokesperson said that none of the 17 bidding agencies had been up to scratch. "It's regretful that all bidding documents from bidders didn't meet the requirements of the invitation," he said in a statement.

Vikas Mehta, regional growth officer, Lowe Asia Pacific commented “It’s a disappointing statement from the country’s top airline. 17 proposals including top global agencies and VNA didn’t find any that came close to meeting their requirements. Was none of the agencies was good enough, or does VNA have unrealistic expectations? Seems like we’ll never know”

The incumbent agency Ogilvy & Mather, Publicis, Dentsu, Lowe, Leo Burnett were among the agencies which participated in the pitch in July.

‘The client came back to us two to three times during this pitch process asking for more information like team profile, and certificates for the agencies and personnel," a source at one of the agencies said. "This kept us hopeful that the pitch was still ongoing, but suddenly we received this letter from the client on 27 September."

Another local agency head, familiar with Vietnam's advertising industry, said the client's conduct was unprofessional. “I think to say that none of the agencies were up to scratch is symptomatic of the attitude that is holding back the advertising industry here in Vietnam,” he said.

“Too many advertisers see agencies as vendors and have no regard for their expertise, experience, and most importantly, resources.  With more than 17 agencies participating in the bid, I refuse to believe that not a single one was able to meet their needs.” he echoed.

Ogilvy & Mather, which had held the account from 2008, has confirmed it is no longer working with VNA. Its contract expired before the pitch. It is understood that VNA will handle its creative account in-house for the time being.

Mehta says he was disapointed in the cancellation and concerned for the ideas presented during the pitch. “Vietnam Airlines is a company of stature and repute. We expect them to demonstrate ethics and integrity in treating the creative ideas shared as a part of the bidding process.”

He added that “As agencies, we haven’t done much to set minimum norms of transparency and accountability on our clients with regard to the pitching process.  Instances like this, should help force an industry view on how to hold clients and agencies accountable in pitches. It’s a dialogue in which, we’d love to engage more agencies and clients”

Tue Nguyen, managing director of Bates Vietnam, said his agency chose not to join this pitch and was not surprised by the cancellation. He noted that the pitch process for government accounts (and state-owned organisations like VNA) can be complicated and involve a lot of red tape and changes. "When it comes to government accounts, most agencies in Vietnam know that there are difficulties, sometimes clients could call for an urgent pitch within two weeks; we wait after the pitch but nothing comes up. That can be frustrating for agencies."

Nguyen cited that the key to working with governement clients is getting to know the right people in the state-owned enterprises and get them to inform of any changes internally ahead of time.

Chris Elkin, MD of branding and marketing consultancy Red Brand Builders in Vietnam commented that it there is often a disconnect between the board and CEOs (who often lack of education in branding and marketing) and the marketing teams (who tend to be younger) of state-run enterprises in Vietnam.

Increasing competition from the private sector, international companies entering the Vietnam market, and the increasing enforcement of intellectual property law should help to challenge the monopoly of state-owned enterprises, Elkin added.

“Vietnam Airlines is a marquee account in Vietnam and is huge for this market,” said one local source close to the pitch. Its media billing is believed to be worth about US$15 million a year.