As the internet increasingly play an important role in Vietnamese people’s daily lives, the country’s online advertising market is seen to have grown rapidly as well, in fact, in a much higher rate than the global average.

According to a report recently released by Cimigo, an independent team of marketing and brand research specialists that operates throughout the Asia-Pacific regions, the internet advertising industry raked an estimated 15.5 million USD in revenues from the country’s online advertising investments for 2009. Such figures account for a 71 percent increase from sales recorded in 2008. As Cimigo works by designing and implementing both qualitative and quantitative studies across the region it targets, its report, “Vietnam’s Online Advertising Revenue Report 2009”, which is basically a result of a massive survey on several online publishers and media agencies indicates that despite the sharp rise of Vietnam’s online advertising market, its full potential yet has to be unveiled.

Even when the country’s online advertising was still at its infancy sometime between 2005 to 2007, they already had seen how promising the industry could turn out to be. Though it has a lot of keeping up to do considering the fast pace of the country’s economic expansion, the market needs to be further tapped. With the country’s population of 85 million and a remarkable increase on its annual GDP, Vietnam is seen as a good business environment for online advertising. Some 27 percent of the total population (about 23 million Vietnamese) go online everyday and spends considerable number of hours on the web. Apart from that, regular access for those who are not very active internet-users is found to be easily available. Despite that, however, businesses still maintain some reservation promoting their business on the web and still highly utilize other methods of sending their message across to potential customers. Lukas Mira, Cimigo’s online director, analyzed 2008’s statistics and claimed that online advertising makes up only a small share, 1.5 percent to be specific, of the entire advertising market versus television and print which comprises over 80 percent.

But with the number of internet users at its peak, and continuously growing, experts in the online advertising industry are optimistic. Their confidence lies not only on the fact that online advertising is indeed cheaper than other forms of advertising, but with the thousands of newer websites launched each day and the billions who access the World Wide Web on a daily basis, there is in fact a higher probability of the ads reaching their prospective Vietnamese clients and even the international market compared with conventional methods.

Online advertising even proves to be more rewarding for businesses since internet users whom their ads are targeted are mostly above-average income-earners who use the internet as a lifestyle and have quite a zest for shopping. And with the web quickly becoming the world’s most convenient source for information, entertainment, communication, product promotions, as well as with the promotion of services and tourist destinations, and a larger spectrum of more practical applications, it targets the very audience they intend to attract.

Low-cost eye-catching buttons, blinking banners and text ads are among the most dominant types of online ads. Others utilize virtual catalogs or brochures. Seen by businesses to be an effective tool, along with its flexibility, versatility and being cost-effective, more and more are now considering online advertising. In fact, big names in the phone manufacturing businesses like Nokia, and even multinational automobile companies such as Ford and Toyota have long been making the most of this form of advertising. Having seen that, no wonder thriving businesses are racing to jump into the bandwagon. Vietnam’s recent promising stance in the online advertising industry is more reason to optimistic about.