<p> </p><p><p><strong><p>Abstract</p><p>Date May 29th, 2009</p><p>Course Master Thesis EFO705, International Marketing</p><p>Tutor Daniel Tolstoy</p><p>Authors Thi Bich Ngoc Nguyen</p><p>Thi Xuan Thu Nguyen</p><p>Title</p><p><em>Brand Launching and Sustaining in a Developing Country</em><strong><p>Purpose</p>The project is to investigate the Brand Launching and Sustaining in a</strong></p><p>The Case Study of Honda on Vietnam Motorcycle Market</p></strong></p></p><p>developing country through the study on how Honda has successfully</p><p>launched and sustained its Brand on the Motorcycle Market of Vietnam.</p><p><p><strong><p>Problems</p>Honda's Brand Launching campaign and the company's strategies and</strong></p></p><p>initiatives to Sustain its Brand on the Motorcycle Market of Vietnam.</p><p><p><strong><p>Methodology</p>The realistic approach and case study method are to be applied. The</strong></p></p><p>information should be gathered through numerous sources: primary data</p><p>from the email qualitative interviews with the managers of Honda</p><p>Motorcycle Vietnam, and the email quantitative surveys among Vietnam's</p><p>Honda Motorcycle users; secondary data from the articles in a variety of</p><p>newspapers and magazines as well as websites.</p><p><p><strong><p>Conceptual Model</p>The contents covered in the project are Brand Launching and Sustaining.</strong></p></p><p>In particular, theories related to Brand Launching in terms of Brand</p><p>Identity and Brand Positioning, as well as Brand Sustaining with respects</p><p>to Brand Growth and Brand Maturity should be investigated and analysed.</p><p>In addition, what is of significance importance is the base of the</p><p>company's Branding Strategies -the business environment of the</p><p>destination country. Therefore, the disseration should thoroughly</p><p>investigate the Grasp of the Market including Market Assessment</p><p>(Government Policies, Demand Conditions and Market Opportunities) and</p><p>Communications (Marketing and PR Activities and Social Corporate</p><p>Responsibility) which serve as the foundation for the firm's market-based</p><p>or fully tailored Branding Strategies to the specific conditions or</p><p>characteristics of the destination nation.</p><p><p><strong><p>Findings</p>Honda has adopted appropriate Branding Strategies (Brand Identity,</strong></p></p><p>Positioning, Growing and Sustaining) on Vietnam Motorcycle Market.</p><p>The firm has identified its Brand as true Made-in-Japan products of high</p><p>quality and reasonable price. It serves as 'the power of dreams' created in</p><p>an ideal corporate culture and environment friendly working condition</p><p>which is committed to advanced technology and society orientation.</p><p>Honda Brand has been positioned to satisfy the needs for a transportation</p><p>means of reliability, long duration, safety, hi-tech, fuel saving and</p><p>environment protection of the middle and high class customer groups in</p><p>Vietnam. To compete with such rivals as Yamaha, Suzuki, SYM and</p><p>Piaggio, Honda has adopted proper Growing Strategies with Cub and</p><p>Scooter categories including a range of product lines. In addition, the</p><p>company has implemented appropriate Sustaining Strategies focusing on</p><p>Communication Efforts and Influencer Proximity with a variety of</p><p>Marketing and PR activities, Safety Driving Plan and Social Activities</p><p>ranging from Environmental Preservation, Educational Development,</p><p>Safety Driving Support Activities to Donation and Charity Activities.</p><p>Actually, Honda's Branding strategies have been fully tailored to the</p><p>specific market conditions of Vietnam.</p><p><p><strong><p>Conclusion</p>Honda has gained the leading position on Vietnam Motorcycle Market</strong></p></p><p>since 1996 when the company penetrated into the country. Honda Brand</p><p>has received great love from Vietnamese customers and become more than</p><p>a Brand, but a citizen of Vietnam who 'strives to become a company that</p><p>the society wants to exist'.</p><p><p><strong><p>Recommendation</p>Honda Brand success should only be maintained when the firm is</strong></p></p><p>managed to constantly strengthen Honda Brand itself as well as identify</p><p>and fix the shortcomings: keep serving as a good Vietnamese citizen, be</p><p>consistent with the company's reasonable pricing strategy, improve the</p><p>firm's customer relationships and pay more attention to the counterfeit</p><p>brand defense.</p><p><p><strong><p>Lessons</p>Honda's great achievements in Vietnam offer valuable lessons for the</strong></p></p><p>firms who desire to successfully brand in Vietnam in particular and</p><p>developing countries in general: Concerning Brand Launching (Brand</p><p>Identity and Positioning), the company should invest in Marketing and PR</p><p>activities, adopt Reasonable Price and Localization strategies, pay</p><p>attention to Customer Relationship, Influencer Proximity and Corporate</p><p>Social Responsibility to become a good citizen of the market country.</p><p>Regarding Brand Sustaining (Brand Growth and Maturity), the firm</p><p>should take advantages of brand extension and line extension, maintain the</p><p>Launching Strategies and simultaneously Bring Added Values and</p><p>Recreate a Perceived Difference for its brands, Actively and dynamically</p><p>involving itself in the Competition and also adopting Dual Management.</p>

Abstract Date May 29th, 2009 Course Master Thesis EFO705, International Marketing Tutor Daniel Tolstoy Authors Thi Bich Ngoc Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu Nguyen Title Brand Launching and Sustaining in a Developing CountryPurpose The project is to investigate the Brand Launching and Sustaining in a The Case Study of Honda on Vietnam Motorcycle Market developing country through the study on how Honda has successfully launched and sustained its Brand on the Motorcycle Market of Vietnam. Problems Honda's Brand Launching campaign and the company's strategies and initiatives to Sustain its Brand on the Motorcycle Market of Vietnam. Methodology The realistic approach and case study method are to be applied. The information should be gathered through numerous sources: primary data from the email qualitative interviews with the managers of Honda Motorcycle Vietnam, and the email quantitative surveys among Vietnam's Honda Motorcycle users; secondary data from the articles in a variety of newspapers and magazines as well as websites. Conceptual Model The contents covered in the project are Brand Launching and Sustaining. In particular, theories related to Brand Launching in terms of Brand Identity and Brand Positioning, as well as Brand Sustaining with respects to Brand Growth and Brand Maturity should be investigated and analysed. In addition, what is of significance importance is the base of the company's Branding Strategies -the business environment of the destination country. Therefore, the disseration should thoroughly investigate the Grasp of the Market including Market Assessment (Government Policies, Demand Conditions and Market Opportunities) and Communications (Marketing and PR Activities and Social Corporate Responsibility) which serve as the foundation for the firm's market-based or fully tailored Branding Strategies to the specific conditions or characteristics of the destination nation. Findings Honda has adopted appropriate Branding Strategies (Brand Identity, Positioning, Growing and Sustaining) on Vietnam Motorcycle Market. The firm has identified its Brand as true Made-in-Japan products of high quality and reasonable price. It serves as 'the power of dreams' created in an ideal corporate culture and environment friendly working condition which is committed to advanced technology and society orientation. Honda Brand has been positioned to satisfy the needs for a transportation means of reliability, long duration, safety, hi-tech, fuel saving and environment protection of the middle and high class customer groups in Vietnam. To compete with such rivals as Yamaha, Suzuki, SYM and Piaggio, Honda has adopted proper Growing Strategies with Cub and Scooter categories including a range of product lines. In addition, the company has implemented appropriate Sustaining Strategies focusing on Communication Efforts and Influencer Proximity with a variety of Marketing and PR activities, Safety Driving Plan and Social Activities ranging from Environmental Preservation, Educational Development, Safety Driving Support Activities to Donation and Charity Activities. Actually, Honda's Branding strategies have been fully tailored to the specific market conditions of Vietnam. Conclusion Honda has gained the leading position on Vietnam Motorcycle Market since 1996 when the company penetrated into the country. Honda Brand has received great love from Vietnamese customers and become more than a Brand, but a citizen of Vietnam who 'strives to become a company that the society wants to exist'. Recommendation Honda Brand success should only be maintained when the firm is managed to constantly strengthen Honda Brand itself as well as identify and fix the shortcomings: keep serving as a good Vietnamese citizen, be consistent with the company's reasonable pricing strategy, improve the firm's customer relationships and pay more attention to the counterfeit brand defense. Lessons Honda's great achievements in Vietnam offer valuable lessons for the firms who desire to successfully brand in Vietnam in particular and developing countries in general: Concerning Brand Launching (Brand Identity and Positioning), the company should invest in Marketing and PR activities, adopt Reasonable Price and Localization strategies, pay attention to Customer Relationship, Influencer Proximity and Corporate Social Responsibility to become a good citizen of the market country. Regarding Brand Sustaining (Brand Growth and Maturity), the firm should take advantages of brand extension and line extension, maintain the Launching Strategies and simultaneously Bring Added Values and Recreate a Perceived Difference for its brands, Actively and dynamically involving itself in the Competition and also adopting Dual Management.

Background: Social media marketing has been used to facilitate communications and interactions between customers and brands and is considered as the effective driver to influence the customers’ buying behaviours and loyalty. Since its emergence in Vietnam market, Samsung smartphone brand has secured a considerable market share in this country and has activated some social media platforms to stay connected with its customers. Though the social media marketing activities and their impacts on brand loyalty have been studied by a number of researchers, the specific case of the smartphone industry has not been eyed enough.  Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how social media marketing activities influence brand loyalty with the specific case of Samsung smartphones in Vietnam.  Method: The chosen approach to address the purpose of this study is deductive. Descriptive design and quantitative technique are purposefully selected to form a structure of methodology of this study. Specifically, the data collected via the tool of survey questionnaires which were delivered to respondents through social media platforms to yield out 197 usable answers.  Conclusion: The results show that the six elements of social media marketing activities, namely: Entertainment, Interaction, Trendiness, Customization, Word of Mouth and Promotion have positive correlations with Brand loyalty. With some differences in terms of responses from different age groups and genders in each category towards the dimensions being utilized on social media sites, the brand is suggested to give a better focus on the importance of Entertainment and Promotion. Also, the platforms of Instagram and Youtube should be better managed to attract and satisfy a larger number of followers.

What makes real life contractual arrangements? How does the law influence real life contractual arrangements? These are everyday questions for businesspeople and commercial lawyers. The traditional ‘imperative’ view of law assumes that business people contract ‘in the shadow of the law’ and contractual arrangements conform to what the law says. But empirical studies on contract practice suggest that contract law may, in fact, play a very insignificant role in real life contractual arrangements. This thesis provides a sociological view of the role of contract law in real life contractual arrangements in the context of the Vietnamese market. Specifically, this thesis applies an institutional law & economics approach to investigate how social structures of the market influence contractual arrangements to marginalize contract law in the Vietnamese market. Drawing on two surveys of contract behaviour in the Vietnamese market, this thesis finds that real life contractual arrangements respond to the institutional structure of the market as a whole, rather than only ‘the shadow of the law’. Institutional changes in the Vietnamese market suggest that there exists a merchant law system, constituted of traditional moral norms and social structures in the market. This merchant law system continues to order contractual arrangements in the market, despite the introduction of a transplanted contract law system. Disagreeing with the imperative approach, this thesis claims that contract law reform should conform to the institutional structure of the market to reduce transaction costs of contracting and to provide an effective framework for real life contractual arrangements.