The prospects of SMS-powered mass messaging in Vietnam

Micro-blogging is raising a trend in Vietnam, not by the number of users, but by the level of media coverage. Obviously, the coverage of Vietnamese media is not to the hype level of all the global ones on Twitter and its ecosystems, but still, it is perceived by many to be the main trend of Vietnam internet market in 2009.

I don’t. Well I don’t talk about micro-blogs for Vietnam. I see different things.

1. What is the market for Twitter-like services?

I identify 4 groups of users:

1. Geeks. Obviously, this group has already been there. They are innovators and early adopters of the services. Most use Twitter and not the clones anyhow.


2. Users who want to use Twitter as a substitute to Yahoo! 360 blast. Check Kazenka’s out.


3. Those who want to keep up with the Joneses. i.e. want to show that they’re cool by using a trendy stuff.


4. This group has not existed: those who want SMS incentives for using the service(s) to send mass messages

It’s the last group which has not existed that is potentially profitable.

2. What is SMS incentive and why is it a group when it hasn’t even existed?

In an over-simplified example:

A does not use service S	User B uses service S and has 1000 followers, 500 in which are followed back. 50 in those 500 are B’s real friends
A organizes a trip to Nha Trang	B organizes a trip to Nha Trang
A sends 10 SMSs to 10 friends. This costs him VND2,000	B sends 1 SMS to 10 friends through S with “Incentive” option selected. This costs him VND60
A and his friends send SMSs back and forth. At the end it cost them a total of VND50,000	A and his friends send SMSs back and forth. At the end it cost them a total of VND6,000
	Why VND50?Because: Business B advertises on S by sponsoring S’s users with VND150 per SMS In exchange, B’s advertisements are displayed on the SMSs S gets VND10 out of 150 from B
It’s simple, painless, and costly. Full stop.	It’s a market that never existed in Vietnam!
	Now. Think about celebrities, attention-seekers and those who want to send mass messages in general.
	Is it an attractive market?

3. Devices and platforms

1. Device: Only smart phones or laptops can access Wi-Fi. All phones can SMS.


2. Platform: good Wi-Fi is not ubiquitous even in urban areas. Mobile coverage is country-wide.

Hope that (2) and (3) answer @firstjames’ wonder.

4. Which player has the potential?

I would say ASAO. Their Ola Me is more than a Twitter clone; the product is one in ASAO’s mobile package suite.

And the company may have the credentials to negotiate for SMS incentives.

5. Summary

This entry is not about micro-blogging. It’s all about the market of SMS incentives, powered by Twitter-like services.

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