Novaon Digital launches a special edition of ONCREATIVE for Tet 2025, offering in-depth insights into creative communication trends in the digital era. Edited by a team of marketing experts, ONCREATIVE promises to provide valuable information on trending topics, helping businesses easily embrace creativity when implementing communication campaigns.
The Changing Trends in Media Worldwide: New Opportunities & Challenges
In the context of a rapidly evolving digital world and constant shifts in consumer behavior, understanding and leveraging new media trends have become more crucial than ever. Technological platforms, artistic culture, and the rapid growth of industries such as gaming and AI-driven characters are not only deeply influencing the field of marketing but also reshaping the way brands connect with their customers. The integration of creativity, cultural arts, and technology into communication strategies presents both a significant challenge and a major opportunity for businesses today.
ONCREATIVE Magazine by Novaon Digital provides insights into creative media trends, offering in-depth information on strategies and effective case studies in the digital era. Focusing on three core content areas—Culture & Arts, Brand Communication, and Creativity & Technology—the magazine helps businesses build strong brands in the digital age.
ON ART & CULTURE – A Bridge of Emotions with Customers
The first chapter focuses on exploring the power of Vietnamese music and culture in brand building. When it comes to music, before making an investment, brands need to clearly define the role of music within their overall communication strategy, ensuring that this investment effectively serves their branding objectives. The magazine introduces a thought framework that helps businesses position their brand in alignment with the appropriate genre or form of music. This approach not only enables them to reach the right target audience but also strengthens their brand positioning in a powerful way.
This article introduces three ways brands can leverage music in their branding strategy. For sponsorship, a brand takes on the role of supporting a cultural or emotional value represented by the sponsored music project. From major music festivals like Hay Fest, Monsoon Music Festival, to viral music game shows such as Chị đẹp đạp gió rẽ sóng (Ride the Wind 2023), The Masked Singer, and even brand-exclusive live music concerts, sponsors consider several key factors: the music genre, event location and timing, target audience and audience scale, followed by the performing artists and the overall theme/message of the show, ensuring alignment with the brand’s identity.
With co-creation, brands have even greater visibility and integration within the content, as seen in branded music videos (MVs) from Strongbow, Mirinda, Vietnam Airlines, Comfort, Kotex, and more. This approach is ideal for brands looking to amplify their product’s presence or deeply engage in the creative process, from concept development to production.
Of course, for these collaborations to feel organic and effective, brands and marketing teams must carefully evaluate their approach. How can brands balance commerce and artistry? This will be explored in detail in ONCREATIVE, offering in-depth and practical insights for marketers.
The third approach, sonic branding, refers to the strategic use of sound in advertising. While applicable to various industries, it is particularly effective in the food and beverage sector, where sound strongly stimulates taste perception. Using vivid examples for each trend, the magazine provides a comprehensive analysis of how music marketing can be effectively applied—helping brands not only reach the right audience but also strengthen their brand positioning.
Beyond music, the “ON ART & CULTURE” section explores how Vietnamese cultural elements are being reimagined by brands to create differentiation, build loyalty, and most importantly, capture the attention of Gen Z.
Traditionally, cultural expression in branding was conservative, less innovative, and difficult to engage with. However, brands today are creatively modernizing national heritage in ways that resonate with younger audiences. Campaigns like “Proudly Made in Vietnam” by Biti’s Hunter, which incorporates cultural symbols from Hanoi, Hue, and Saigon into sneaker designs, or HDBank’s Hội Xuân Quý Mão game, blending traditional folk customs with technology, are examples of how cultural authenticity and modern appeal can coexist.
Not just big brands—Gen Z itself is actively exploring and reinventing cultural storytelling in unique ways. Through this magazine, we take a closer look at the perspectives of a Gen Z culture enthusiast and uncover the driving forces behind the revival of tradition in today’s modern landscape.
ON COMMUNICATION– Brand Communication: Creating Differentiation in the Competitive Era
The two major driving forces of the new era are digital transformation and green transformation, unlocking groundbreaking directions across various sectors, especially communication. First and foremost, it is essential to highlight the “green living” trend, which is increasingly influencing public behavior and how brands can effectively leverage this trend in their communication campaigns. With numerous brands simultaneously focusing on sustainability, what will be the unique touchpoint that sets one apart?
By analyzing campaigns such as “A Moment of Peace from Nature” by Lavie, which creatively combines technology and environmental consciousness, and “Live Green with Gen G” by Panasonic, this article identifies key emotional touchpoints that strengthen customer engagement and foster brand loyalty. The winning formula lies in the combination of simple yet accessible ideas, multi-channel communication strategies tailored to specific audiences, and an emphasis on authenticity—all essential for maintaining trust and long-term sustainability.
Second, Brand Persona—the soul of a brand—plays a crucial role in establishing a lasting connection with customers and serves as the foundation for communication campaigns. To craft a distinctive brand personality, three fundamental elements are indispensable: visual identity, brand voice, and action. Visual identity enables a brand to be easily recognized and effectively convey its message through design elements such as logos, colors, typography, and overall imagery. Brand voice defines how a brand communicates with its audience, reflecting its personality through word choice and storytelling style. Action encompasses the tangible initiatives a brand undertakes, from online to offline campaigns. To better understand how to apply these elements effectively, numerous case studies have been explored and analyzed in detail in the “ON COMMUNICATION” section of the magazine.
Third, the concept of Brandformance—a fusion of brand building and performance marketing—is also a key topic addressed by ONCREATIVE. The magazine provides essential principles for leveraging data-driven content creation, utilizing multi-channel strategies, and optimizing real-time campaigns, helping businesses achieve short-term effectiveness while simultaneously building long-term brand value.
In today’s digital era, Creative Studios and Production Houses are increasingly asserting their position, particularly with the rise of short-form video platforms such as Reels and TikTok. These entities face the challenge of balancing profitability with product quality. So, how do experts in creative production navigate this challenge? The magazine’s interview section unveils sharp insights from industry professionals while also sharing their strategies for optimizing the creative process and maintaining quality in an increasingly competitive landscape.
ON CREATECH – Creativity and Technology: The Future of Digital Communication
Creativity and technology are unlocking new opportunities for brands in the digital era, with game advertising (gamevertising) emerging as a standout trend in Vietnam, home to over 50 million gamers. A prime example is Clear Men’s sponsorship of the eSports tournament at the 2019 “Vietnam Championship Series” featuring the game “League of Legends.” The brand seamlessly integrated player imagery and messaging such as “Eliminate dandruff, 100% undefeated!” into the game, livestreams, and tournament activities, fostering a deep connection with the gaming community. Gamevertising provides access to audiences that are difficult to reach through traditional channels while effectively delivering brand messages.
Beyond this, the Creator Economy and Avatar Economy are reshaping how brands engage with consumers. The Creator Economy, where individuals produce content on platforms like YouTube and TikTok, is thriving in Vietnam thanks to its young, tech-savvy population. Creative content not only helps brands build their image but also expands revenue streams through advertising and sponsorships.
Meanwhile, the Avatar Economy, supported by the metaverse and blockchain technology, combined with the Creator Economy, has begun to take shape in Vietnam through virtual ambassadors such as “Vie” from VIB. These digital ambassadors not only represent brands but also provide unique and personalized experiences, promising to revolutionize brand communication in the future.
Additionally, the application of technology in heritage brands, blending the past with the future, presents significant growth potential. Immersive technologies such as AR, VR, and XR enable brands to integrate tradition with innovation. The adoption of immersive technologies like AR, VR, and XR also facilitates the fusion of heritage and creativity. In Vietnam, Vietnam Airlines has implemented VR to recreate landscapes and cultural scenes from iconic destinations, fostering a deep connection with customers through enriched experiential journeys. These groundbreaking advancements not only enhance brand value but also shape the future of marketing in the digital era.
Conclusion
The ONCREATIVE publication, curated by Novaon Digital, was created with the purpose of sharing insights and analyses on major topics that are shaping the way we approach communication audiences. From the artful integration of cultural and artistic elements in media to the impact of technological platforms and gaming on the marketing industry—how should brands today stay ahead of the sustainable living trend? What is the potential of the virtual character economy? And how is the gap between branding and performance gradually narrowing? All of these discussions will be explored in this special edition.
Novaon Digital takes pride in being a leading consultancy in Brand Experience solutions for businesses, focusing on sustainable development and revenue growth. Stay tuned for ONCREATIVE magazine to stay ahead of emerging media trends in the digital era with us!
