The automotive market is entering a phase of intense competition, where brands are not only required to build strong awareness but also to convert it into actual sales. Brandformance – the integration of branding and performance – has emerged as a strategic fit for the industry’s unique characteristics. Novaon Digital has applied this approach successfully, delivering tangible results for various automotive brands. This article analyzes three standout case studies that demonstrate how brandformance can elevate brand positioning while driving sales performance.

Vietnam’s Automotive Market: When Branding Must Go Hand-in-Hand with Business Outcomes

Vietnam’s automotive market where brands must go hand in hand with performance to stay resilient

In 2024, Vietnam’s automotive market witnessed a strong rebound after a period of downturn, with total vehicle sales reaching approximately 340,142 units – a 12.6% increase compared to the previous year. This growth reflects the rising demand for car ownership among Vietnamese consumers, especially in the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments.

However, competition has intensified with new players entering the market and existing brands constantly expanding their portfolios and advancing their technologies. Consumers now enjoy more choices than ever – from conventional models to electric and hybrid vehicles – catering to diverse preferences and needs.

The car buying journey in Vietnam has also become more complex, characterized by a prolonged decision-making process and multiple touchpoints before purchase. Surveys show that 78% of Vietnamese consumers prioritize buying new vehicles, with over 60% opting for 4–5-seater cars, highlighting a practical mindset focused on usability.

In this context, relying solely on brand-building or focusing purely on performance metrics is no longer sufficient to attract and retain customers. As a result, a fully integrated strategy combining creativity, technology, and business thinking – brandformance – has become an inevitable trend to meet the increasingly high and varied expectations of modern car buyers.

Brandformance – A Strategic Imperative for Engaging the Modern Car Buyer

In an industry with long, complex buying journeys like automotive, building brand awareness and driving conversions can no longer be treated as separate goals. Consumers don’t purchase cars after a single click or a fleeting ad impression. They take time to research, compare, and build trust before making a decision involving hundreds of millions of VND.

This is exactly where brandformance – the combination of branding and performance – comes in. It’s an integrated approach ensuring that every user touchpoint contributes not only to brand equity but also to driving specific actions across the purchase journey, from awareness to consideration to conversion.

Brandformance connects brand-building efforts to measurable business results while ensuring seamless coordination across the three pillars of marketing: strategy, creativity, and technology. From tailoring messaging for each stage of the buyer journey, designing emotionally resonant yet action-driven content, to leveraging technology for real-time measurement, data analysis, and budget optimization – each element plays a vital role.

To understand the practical value of brandformance in the automotive industry, we can identify key benefits that help brands optimize campaigns and achieve outstanding outcomes:

• Boost brand awareness and conversion simultaneously, ensuring presence both in customers’ minds and their purchasing decisions.
• Shorten decision cycles by delivering relevant content at the right moment.
• Maximize media budget efficiency by tracking and optimizing each touchpoint based on real-time data.
• Create long-term competitive advantages by building sustained customer relationships instead of chasing short-term wins.

Case Study 1: Skoda – “Curiosity makes us smarter”

Brand Challenge
As a newcomer to Vietnam’s automotive market, Skoda faced a major challenge in launching its key SUV models – Karoq and Kodiaq – in a competitive environment where consumers were already familiar with established names.

Novaon Digital’s Solution
Novaon implemented a holistic brand experience strategy, integrating Strategy – Creative – Technology:

• Designed communication strategy tailored to each launch phase.
• Activated engagement through events (offline, livestreams, virtual showrooms).
• Deployed Digital Performance and Social Media campaigns.
• Applied technologies like AI Chatbots, CRM, and ONCUSTOMER for lead management and customer care.

Brand Experience Strategy
Novaon Digital helped Skoda not only enhance brand visibility but also deliver a complete, technology-powered brand experience – optimizing every customer touchpoint from awareness to conversion.

Skoda – “Curiosity makes us smarter”

Case Study 2: Peugeot – “When the White Lion Adapted to Thrive”

Brand Challenge
At the end of 2021, as Vietnam’s auto industry began recovering from the impact of COVID-19, Peugeot saw a golden opportunity to accelerate. The challenge: how to maintain growth and expand SUV market share within a compressed one-month launch window.

Novaon Digital’s Solution
Novaon deployed a fully integrated brand experience strategy combining Strategy – Creative – Technology:

• Applied AI to optimize ad delivery by audience segments.
• Upgraded Sales–CRM systems to analyze consumer behavior and improve lead nurturing and conversions.
• Executed a tech-driven brand experience strategy that created emotional and functional connections between customers and the product.

Brand Experience Strategy
This approach enabled Peugeot to identify and engage high-potential prospects using advanced technology, turning market constraints into opportunities to grow and solidify market share in Vietnam.

Peugeot – “When the White Lion Adapted to Thrive”

Case Study 3: Toyota – TikTok Playbook Implementation

Brand Challenge
Toyota aimed to increase brand visibility on TikTok – a platform rich in entertainment, short-form content, and a predominantly young audience. The challenge was how to engage the right target audience with content aligned to user behavior and preferences.

Novaon Digital’s Solution

• Developed a long-term TikTok strategy with clear content direction.
• Produced trend-based content such as car reviews, mini-games, and storytelling formats.
• Enhanced performance marketing to optimize reach and capture potential leads.
• Advised on brand visuals for consistency across all touchpoints.
• Collaborated with KOLs and KOCs through Hashtag Challenges and mini-games.

Brand Experience Strategy
Novaon Digital combined storytelling, TikTok trends, and real-life experiences to turn TikTok into more than just a promotional platform – transforming it into a dynamic content hub, powered by creative effects and technology to deliver diverse and engaging brand experiences.

Toyota – TikTok Playbook Implementation

Conclusion

In a fast-changing automotive landscape and increasingly complex consumer journey, brandformance is becoming an essential strategy that enables brands to build strong identities while achieving real business outcomes. With end-to-end capabilities from strategy to execution, Novaon Digital has partnered with Skoda, Peugeot, and Toyota to deliver impactful brandformance campaigns – demonstrating the power of combining creativity, technology, and data to drive meaningful growth.

Novaon Digital is proud to be a trusted expert in delivering brandformance solutions for automotive brands, helping them pursue sustainable brand building alongside measurable revenue growth. Through the insights and case studies in this article, automotive marketers can craft agile marketing strategies that make the most of creative, technological, and data resources to sharpen their competitive edge.

Explore more case studies from Novaon Digital here.