international branding campaign | Hanoi | Vietnam

Sector

Travel

Objectives

Brand awareness | New consumers 

Challenge

Having never embarked on a large scale international branding campaign, Hanoi Tourism wanted to showcase the breathtaking natural beauty and thousand-year heritage of Vietnam’s capital city to an international audience.

The aim was to increase awareness and consideration of Hanoi as a must-visit tourist destination.

Solution

Hanoi Tourism selected CNN for a two-year multiplatform partnership that evolved from the introduction of Hanoi as an ideal travel destination to explore the city's heritage, culture and history.

Drawing deeply on local knowledge and with strong social and editorial elements that harnessed the power of influencers intimately acquainted with the city, the campaign provided an inspiring and authentic journey into what makes Hanoi unique.

Results

Services this project covered

Campaign overview

The campaign involved multiple editorial strands, supported by branded content, digital advertising, social campaigns, TV advertising and short films developed by CNN’s brand studio, Create.

Heart of Vietnam

Themed around the brand straplines of ‘Heart of Vietnam’ and ‘Cradle of heritage’, this part of the campaign captured Hanoi through the lens of an influential local photographer and online travel writer, Phoebe Lee.

#MyHanoi

This element included an editorial theme week with short films and strong digital and social alignment, following 6 Instagrammers as they presented the best of Hanoi, from famous landmarks to hidden gems.

Hanoi POV

A series of cinematic videos that explored Hanoi through the eyes of 5 of its residents, each providing a different perspective on the culture, food and people of the city.

Video

Each strand of the overall campaign contained beautifully shot video and programming, which showcased the different sides of Hanoi, bringing to life each element to create a compelling picture of a unique travel destination.

#MyHanoi

60-Second Vacation

Hanoi POV

Digital content

Supported by editorial and dedicated sections on CNN Travel, the campaign's digital presence complemented and extended on-air activity, throughout.

Hanoi POV content on CNN Travel

CNN Travel content

Feature site

A campaign feature site developed by Create, further extended the campaign's digital content.

Visit Ad Feature

TV advertising

Launching the campaign, Create developed two 30-second TV ads which introduced the themes of ‘Heart of Vietnam’ and ‘Cradle of heritage’ and developed through all the other campaign elements.

Heart of Vietnam TV ad

Cradle of heritage TV ad

Digital & social

Digital ad placements across CNN then aligned around editorial linked to the campaign feature site, enabling CNN’s audiences to discover more. The campaign was amplified through Create’s own social channels, in addition to the considerable social influence of contributors, such as Phoebe Lee, Lan Chi Tran and Linh Pham.