Whether to buy national brand or not?

	Vietnam takes concrete measures to promote national brand
	Vietnam warned it may lose strong national brands after selling SOEs

Vietcombank has consecutively won national brand five times

No registration means not to be voted

The Program aims to build an image of Vietnam as a prestige nation of diversified and high-quality goods and services and improve competitiveness for Vietnamese brands on the domestic market and oversea markets in the integration process. Being officially held in 2008, the program is held every two years with increasing number of enterprises which won National Brands through each time (the program has been held five times). After two years since Chairman of the National Brand Board signed the decision on recognition of the national brand, the product must be re-voted to continue to be recognized as a national brand as described.

Seeing the list of winners of the national brand through each year, we can realize that some enterprises consecutively won the national brand five times such as Vietcombank or some enterprises also consecutively won this prize from two to three times. However, from this list, many people wondered why brands such as Vietnam Airlines or Trung Nguyen Coffee have not ever been called.

In a recent branding conference, Mr. Nguyen Thy Son, management officer of Vietnam Airlines intellectual property shared that he has repeatedly advised the Corporate leaders to participate in the national brand program but all those consultations failed. Because of every year, the Corporate leaders receive many invitations to participate in all kinds of prizes such as famous brands, national brands, sustainable brands. " National Brand is the general national property, the hosting agency is requested to not only stop asking companies for registration but to implement at a higher level as assessment and consideration. Whenever an enterprise is eligible for a national brand, it shall be designated and implement procedures. "Mr. Son suggested and added: "When a national brand becomes general national value and property, it must be compulsory and procedural. If we still maintain the current methods, the thought of buying prizes will exist.”

Also, if the registration is implemented, the missing will be occurred, meaning that some enterprises that are qualified but do not registers will not be voted and at that time, the rankings is not accurate.

Thus, the National Brand is only gained by registration of enterprises and is only for enterprises which registered. Although how big and famous enterprises are, they do not register, they will never be voted for a national brand.

Why the brand which is recognized is revoked?

Responding the concerns of enterprises, Mr. Do Kim Lang, Deputy Director General of the Trade Promotion Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) immediately reassured: "The program is a program originating from both sides of the enterprise and the State in cooperation with the spirit of inviting enterprises rather than “asking – giving”. We are also looking forward to Vietnam Airlines participation because we have invited the Corporate for many years, but it has not yet participated in”.

Mr. Lang added that the program is free and many enterprises receive many benefits after the registration. They cannot imagine their success after winning the prize without any payments from registration to prize winning. Mr. Lang confirmed: “We are very sorry for enterprises which have been invited but have not participated in"

With the proposal on the methods of organization, Mr. Lang said that the ministry will listen to opinions of enterprises, that is taking the initiative to bring worthy enterprises such as Vietnam Airlines to be able to stand in the National Brand Rankings.

Though doubts of enterprises about the prize "buying" were immediately answered, the problems that Tran Quoc Khanh, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade stated in a meeting with the Trade Promotion Department in the early of 2017 were noticeable. He noted that as soon as being assigned to take charge of the Department, he received a list of national brands 2016, the day after it was claimed that the enterprise was small, specialized on imports, why does it win the brand. A question here is whether we vote for enterprises or brands.

Moreover, the brand is just the star on the hat, the quality and value of the product is the foundation of the brand, the brand does not depend on lose/profit-making of enterprises or the tax evasion. "Why do we vote for enterprises but not change by evaluating the brand based on the level of consumer perception, product assessment and the time that the brand appears on the market," he said. Mr. Khanh proposed and said that the current voting method is not very transparent and not objective enough. In addition, the brand revocation after 2 years of the vote also needs to be reviewed because why the brand that is recognized is revoked and re-voted.

Harnessing the ‘national brand’ image of agriculture Commodity branding is a way for farmers and other actors in the agriculture segment of the economy ...

Therefore, the implementation of the hosting agency is likely to be not transparent and causes unnecessary misunderstandings for enterprises. So, besides changes in the method of organization, the hosting agency of the National Brand Program should implement more effective and wider propaganda.