Pink astronauts roaming the streets of Ho Chi Minh City may have been the most visible sign of Moonfolks’ recent arrival in Vietnam, but the launch also marked something of a re-entry, if we’re allowed to extend the space metaphor a little further.
More than a decade after living and working in Vietnam, Moonfolks Founder and CEO Anish Daryani is returning to establish the agency’s newest regional office alongside Chief Creative Officer and Managing Partner Livio Grossi.
Ahead of the opening in Vietnam, we caught up with Daryani to discuss why now was the right time to bring Moonfolks to Vietnam, what opportunities he sees in one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing markets, the agency’s commerce-led approach to creativity, and his ambitions for the new operations.
Building on your presence in Indonesia and Brunei, Moonfolks today opens an office in Ho Chi Minh City. Why does Vietnam feel like the right market for you at this moment?
Having lived and worked in Vietnam, I have continued to maintain client and talent relationships here. The ambition to launch Moonfolks Vietnam was always there. I had tried launching in November 2019, with the plan to start operations in 2020, but Covid got in the way.
Why now? There are two very important constituents for expanding to new markets: The first is access to the best talent and leadership – which we’ve found in Livio. Second is client interest – which we have a lot of, especially from our regional relationships
Besides, Vietnam, with its 8.18% GDP growth, the fastest in ASEAN, is by far the most attractive market to be in.
But above all, we also feel this is a market where we can make a tangible difference to brands and contribute to their success.
Can you talk about the unique brand activations for the launch there?
Moonfolks launched in Vietnam in its signature audacious style.
Pre-Launch Activation: The agency has created a lot of buzz in Ho Chi Minh City through an immersive pre-launch activation. Three “Moonfolks”… aka distinct Pink Astronauts, roamed the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, about a week prior to the launch.
They took their audience through a journey of discovery – from being “aliens”, to understanding the local culture, habits, and food, which they embraced. Their role transformed from being foreign agents to familiar personalities, who went around the city helping city folks with their daily chores.
Ultimately, spreading smiles by giving away freebies to kids – Balloons, candies, toys- attracting huge crowds, to ultimately claim the title of “New Locals”.
The entire journey of the launch teaser was captured by 20 content creators, whose stories created intrigue across Instagram and TikTok, with the hashtag #NewLocals.
Reveal and Launch: The three “Moonfolks” landed up at the launch venue – the iconic Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts Museum, still followed by content creators, who revealed that the entire activation was to announce the launch of Moonfolks.
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The launch was presided by the Chief Guest, Dr. Vipra Pandey, Consul General of India in Ho Chi Minh City. In attendance were leaders of the business community, Ms. Venus Yeoh Kim Wei, EVP of Marketing, Suntory Pepsico Beverages Vietnam, Mr. Sunardi T, Managing Director, Mayora Vietnam, among other notable figures.
The event was attended by the marketing fraternity of Vietnam, industry partners of Moonfolks, content creators and journalists, about hundred in number.
The agency showcased its showreel, and revealed a video capturing its launch campaign.
What trends are you seeing in the way brands connect with consumers in Vietnam right now?
I don’t intend to be critical, but overall the way brands are connecting with consumers is quite underwhelming. There are sparks of brilliance. But the bulk of the advertising is the usual product-led TVC. Literally, only a handful of brands are making an effort to start conversations, drive a point of view home, or create change.
AI adoption in Vietnam is the highest in ASEAN. 81% of Vietnamese use AI tools on a daily basis. The discovery of brands has already moved to AI-generated recommendations, but GEO has just about scratched the surface.
Consumers are mobile-first, and influence matters, with creators and communities shaping people’s preferences. There’s a slow awakening to this new normal. Brands aren’t building credible sources that lend authenticity to their claims. Also, influence works only when brands have a point of view. And sadly, very few do.
Bottom line is that consumers have evolved, but brands are still catching up.
Vietnamese audiences are young, digitally connected, and have their own tastes and expectations of brands. What makes this an interesting market for Moonfolks?
We believe every brand deserves a Moonshot, our proprietary model that uses data to combine consumers, culture, the category and the brand itself to derive the Human Truth and Brand Truth. The Moonshot is a culmination of the two, that becomes the catalyst for belief and action – the brand purpose behind every decision a brand should abide by.
This Moonshot is brought to life by combining content, creators, communities and culture to drive consumers to commerce. The only difference is, we choose to do it audaciously.
Moonfolks says, “We put commerce at the heart of everything we do.” Can you talk about that approach and how it shapes your creative philosophy?
Fundamentally, even before I became an industry practitioner, I have always believed that companies build brands to sell more, and to drive a better value for the product or service they want to offer.
For us, advertising isn’t about creating communication. It is about solving business problems… solutions that move the needle for the client.
If creative solutions come from Moonfolks, they have to lead to Commerce. And because we aren’t boring, we’re Audacious. This is the essence of our “Audacious Commerce” model.
In effect, we drive brand purpose, brand experience, brand reputation and brand content to deliver audacious commerce!
Can you tell us about the team and culture you’re building in Ho Chi Minh City?
The team in Vietnam is led by Livio Grossi, our CCO and Managing Partner for Vietnam. Under him, we have business teams, strategy teams, senior creative resources, and finance and admin. The thinktank will be all based locally, while we outsource all the back-office work to Jakarta, where we have a much larger team, using a hub-and-spoke model.
This is the model for now, but may evolve if client requirements need us to set up teams onsite, or volume of work demands that the administrative services need to be built locally.
Culture is what I’m most passionate about. It determines everything we stand for, and to it, we owe all our successes, achievements, and wins. We have won the coveted Best Place to Work in APAC, and Agency of the Year for Best Culture in the past. That wasn’t by accident. We had collaboratively defined our culture with the help of professional consultants and all our people. We brought the same learnings in culture to Vietnam, reinforced for the local context.
First is to embrace the spirit of audacity. To fear nothing. To dare to be different. I love it when my teams walk into client meetings or pitches with a swagger. A well-earned swagger. I want that to continue in Vietnam. To feel the pride of being Moonfolks.
- We are “People Powered”. We’re all about the folks we work with… those who work in the agency, and those who work with the agency… clients and industry partners. Which is why we have “folks” in our name, as a constant reminder that our people come first.
- “Diverse Collaboration” guides us to embrace our differences. We have zero tolerance for any form of discrimination. From an agile workspace, tools for innovation and simplicity in process, we are designed for seamless collaboration – with internal teams, external specialists, partners & clients. We are champions at harnessing the power of the collective.
- “Playful Curiosity” encourages us to ask “What is” and “What if” more often. We explore the unthinkable. We stretch the boundaries to innovate. Failure is a teacher!
- “Performance Driven” is our final cultural pillar. Everything we do has a purpose. To accelerate commerce. We perfect our crafts. We focus on results. We chase greatness. We settle for nothing less.
The idea is to bring every element of our culture that has worked in other markets to Vietnam, empowering our people to do their life’s best work.
Looking ahead, what are your ambitions for the new office and for Moonfolks’ work with brands in Vietnam?
We believe our approach of driving “Audacious Commerce” for brands will find a home in Vietnam. Our playbook of combining content, communities, creators, and culture to connect with audiences will bring an element of freshness that brands in Vietnam are yet to experience.
We want to work with ambitious brands that dare to be bold. To be different. For brands that want to play safe, there are many other agencies out there who can help you. Because safe is boring, and honestly, a waste of the client’s resources. We understand that not every client has the appetite for our flavor of audacity, and we’re fine with that. But for those who do, we will take them to the moon!
