At the Vietnam iContent 2025 event, Bui Dang Duyen Mai presented her paper, "Coca-Cola's magical connection: From trust to love," during a discussion session on "Responsibility with public trust." She stated that the brand defines trust not as a destination, but as "a magical journey to win over Vietnamese consumers 'from trust to love' for over three decades."

Bui Dang Duyen Mai, Coca-Cola's director of public affairs and sustainability, speaks at the event. Photo: Quynh Tung

Mai emphasized the brand's core philosophy throughout its three-decade journey alongside Vietnamese families: harmoniously combining the provision of international quality products with becoming a companion, an indispensable part of every memorable moment in life. This is reinforced by Coca-Cola consistently being honored as one of the "best workplaces in Vietnam" from 2018-2024 (according to Anphabe), ranking in the Top 2 most sustainable businesses in 2024 (selected by VCCI), and Top 10 most sustainable foreign direct investment businesses in 2025.

With 11 brands in Vietnam, Coca-Cola effectively meets the needs of various customer segments. To maintain its position and "harmonize with the creative pulse, touching the emotions of many generations, especially young people," the company constantly reinvents itself, creating platforms with diverse activities.

The brand actively creates activities ranging from online to offline, from music festivals to personalized campaigns, and from global campaigns to communication initiatives exclusive to Vietnam, aiming to diversify touchpoints.

When young people sought to assert their personal identity, Coca-Cola responded with the "Share A Coke" platform, allowing them to print their names on soda cans, transforming the product into a gift and a means of connecting friends and family. Embracing global trends, the brand offers new experiences such as Coke K-Wave for the K-pop loving community, or using Sprite to "cool down" and soothe the scorching summer heat with "Sprite - incredibly refreshing" events often held at Vietnamese beaches during the summer.

A prominent highlight in Coca-Cola's journey of building trust is its commitment to and celebration of local culture. Mai shared that by honoring Vietnamese culinary culture, Coca-Cola launched "Foodmarks - Quan dinh chuyen hay." This activity helps Vietnamese people enjoy more delicious meals and makes conversations at the dining table more lively, thereby connecting everyone.

Among the cultural engagement activities, the image of the "golden swallow" on Coca-Cola cans during Tet Nguyen Dan—the biggest festival for Vietnamese people—is particularly noteworthy. Mai affirmed that it was fortunate for Coca-Cola to adopt the golden swallow symbol early on.

This companionship is also demonstrated through community activities, extending the value of reunion, such as "Ban tiec Tet dieu ky" (magical Tet feast) or "Phien cho Tet 0 dong" (zero-dong Tet markets), which aim to help disadvantaged families have a complete Tet, embodying the philosophy that "no one is left behind" during days of reunion. "We always cherish the value of reunion associated with the joy of gathering during Tet," Mai emphasized.

Coca-Cola emphasizes the importance of building engaging content in the digital age. The brand leverages festival wrap-up videos, interactions, and entertainment across multiple platforms to create O2O (online to offline) touchpoints.

"For us, the journey from trust to love involves many different touchpoints. How we connect with our customers, how we touch their hearts, is how we build that connection from trust to love," Mai shared.

According to Duyen Mai, Coca-Cola's communication strategy is a long-term journey, built on authenticity and a deep appreciation for local culture to reach the hearts of Vietnamese consumers.

In addition to sharing its communication strategy as a beverage industry giant, Coca-Cola also brought many products to the Vietnam iContent event, empowering the Vietnamese creative community with energy to continue producing good, responsible content.

Coca-Cola brings products to the Vietnam iContent event, energizing the creative community. Photo: Quynh Tung

Coca-Cola entered Vietnam in 1994 and currently operates three factories in Ha Noi, Da Nang, and Tay Ninh, creating 4,000 direct jobs and over 20,000 indirect jobs through its supply chain and local partners.

Diep Chi