You Don't Know Vietnam

Michael Rosen is a co-founder of Về để đi Spirits, a contemporary liquor brand and distillery making craft gin, rum, creme de cacao, triple sec and... wait for it... whiskey. Today, Michael tells me why Vietnam is surprisingly good for distilling whiskey (maybe even better than Scotland?). He tells me why Về để đi celebrates the unpredictable energy of urban Vietnam in its brand positioning, and what's going on with Vietnam's explosion of cocktail bars. He also shares why the time is now for Vietnamese products, brands and culture, and why you'll need resilience with a sprinkling of stupidity to succeed in business here. 

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This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Hailing from the graffitied streets of Paris, Nodey came to Vietnam to explore his Vietnamese roots through music. The result? His unique sound inspired by old school hip hop, high tempo electronic music, and Vietnamese samples. Plus, a great studio album called ":-)", an epic music video for the song Đôi Khi featuring Suboi, as well as regular 3am appearances gracing Vietnam's nightclub scene with his high-energy sounds. Today, Nodey shares why the pandemic was a watershed moment for the Vietnam's homegrown music scene, which Vietnamese artists you should be looking out for now, and all the reasons he is very happy calling Vietnam home... for now. Listen and follow Nodey on Spotify and Apple.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Linh Dao Smooke is the COO of Hackernoon, a tech community website that has more than 45,000 contributing writers and millions of readers each month. But today, me and Linh talk about pretty much everything EXCEPT Hackernoon. From how she thinks Vietnam is perceived by people in America, to her experiences being raised the heart of Hanoi's Old Quarter, and what shocks her most when she returns to Vietnam today. We also talk about the importance of brands earning trust with word of mouth and social media in Vietnam, and why stubborn global brand directors often miss the mark with their local marketing efforts.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Thuy Hoang is COO at The Sentry, a collection of co-working and lifestyle spaces that house more than 70 startups and established companies in Ho Chi Minh City. Today, she tells me what young Vietnamese people are looking for in a workplace, the benefits and challenges of managing a young workforce, and the importance of hiring a great middle manager - FAST. We also talk about young people's attitudes to wellbeing and sustainability at work, and the challenges global brands face when entering Vietnam to do business. 

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Meet Tuan Le and Phuong Anh Nguyen from The Lab Saigon. Tuan is the Co-Founder and Creative Director while Phuong Anh is the Strategic Partnerships Director and partner of The Lab Saigon, an agency made up of its design and creative studio, The Lab Creative, and its venture firm, The Lab Concepts, which invests in (and builds) new brands in Vietnam. Today, we talk about how The Lab Saigon solves problems for its clients and partners. We also chat about Vietnam's newfound focus on branding and creativity as a resource for growth, which has seen the emergence of top-quality locally-built brands give global imports a run for their money in recent years. As a cheeky thought exercise, we also kick around some ideas as to how "Brand Vietnam" could be positioned on the world stage.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Keira Ngo is a writer, podcast host and research assistant who specialises in the prevention of mental health issues among young people in Vietnam. She recently earned the Fulbright scholarship from the US Embassy to study at the University of Rochester, New York, where she will study a Master's Degree in Psychotherapy for Couples and Families.  Today, she talks about the mental health challenges among young people in Vietnam, and how they vary in different parts of the country.  She digs into the pressures faced by the modern Vietnamese man and woman (turns out there's an interesting link to Confucianism here!) and explains what could be done to help reduce the rising divorce rates in Vietnam. 

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Michael Ngo is the General Manager for Southeast Asia and Taiwan at Elsa Corp, a Vietnamese ed-tech start up that's taking the world by storm. Currently responsible for a team of 100 people in Vietnam, Michael offers his insights into managing Vietnam's young and hungry workforce. Given his vast experience working in Vietnam and Singapore, we discuss the differences between managing people and doing business in Vietnam and Singapore. Michael also gives his tips for global brands or businesses who want to enter Vietnam as their next growth market.  

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Phuc Map, real name Brandon Hurley, has risen to popularity in Vietnam by mastering the art of speaking Vietnamese, and being funny with it on YouTube, TikTok and TV. He's got more than half a million subscribers on YouTube and almost a million followers on TikTok. Today, he tells me what makes his comedy work in Vietnam, why satire is so easy to get wrong, and the important of checking yourself before you wreck yourself with cultural no-nos. He talks me through the six Vietnamese tones, how to address people in the right way, and the kinds of slang being used by Gen Z in Vietnam today. 

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

Vinh Xo is the founder of Vat Vo Studio, a team of independent tech reviewers on YouTube with more than 2m subscribers. Today, he tells me why people in Vietnam are so crazy about Apple products, the worrying issues around data security in Vietnam, and his top tips for staying safe online. He breaks down why homegrown app Zalo is so popular with more than 85m users, and offers insights as to how global brands can best build audiences in Vietnam.

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening. 

As a sports journalist and editor, Luu Thien knows all about the sports trends keeping Vietnam buzzing with energy. Today, he talks about the current sports landscape in Vietnam, the growth of Esports and niche sports and what's going on with Vietnamese football on the domestic and international stages right now. He also shares his tips for what global sports brands must do to engage a loyal following of super fans in this sports-loving country of 100,000,000 people.  

Send us Fan Mail

If you enjoy this conversation or think someone in your network could find value in it, please share it and hit follow to get notified when the next episode drops.

This podcast is brought to you by We Create Content, the content marketing agency that builds audiences for global brands in Vietnam. You can follow our host, Ian Paynton, on LinkedIn, and follow the podcast on Instagram, TikTok and X. 

A special thanks to DJ Jase at The Beats Saigon for the soundtrack, and to YOU for listening.