News and business digital publisher Vietcetera announced Friday a relaunch of its English-language International Edition, which aims to attract a readership of over 5 million Vietnamese ex-pats living in the U.S., Germany, France, Australia, Canada and the U.K.
Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietcetera employs over 100 full-time staff and has grown an audience of 20 million monthly readers, according to the publisher. It is on pace to generate $3 million in revenue by the end of 2022, but its multiyear ambitions are grander, said CEO and co-founder Hao Tran.
Vietnam’s young-skewing population—more than one-third are under the age of 24, according to a recent U.N. report—combined with a relative lack of media news and business reporting competition, has helped Vietcetera attract advertising interest from brands like Meta, Mastercard, Diageo and Durex. These funds, plus the $2.7 million it raised in seed funding in August, will fund its English-language edition.
“We want to bring Vietnam to the world and the world to Vietnam,” Hao told Adweek. “The importance of this country to the world is so paramount, and we want to be delivering what that message is.”
The news comes amid a growing awareness in the U.S. of the interconnectedness of global capitalism, as supply-chain issues caused by the pandemic lay bare Americans’ reliance on commercial hubs like Vietnam. The relaunch also follows on the heels of a growing slate of publishers, including The Juggernaut and Rest of World, that aim to bring news from Southeast Asia to Western audiences.
The International Edition aims to reach a young audience of Vietnamese diaspora.Vietcetera
Bridging Vietnam and the diaspora
Vietcetera originally launched as an English-speaking publication in 2016. It pivoted to Vietnamese-language content in 2018 after realizing how popular its coverage had grown among Vietnamese readers.
Its International Edition sat largely dormant for the last three years, but the pandemic offered an opportunity for the publisher to reconfigure its strategy for reaching English speakers. The newly relaunched English-version website now features a new layout, logo and content focus, led by former Saveur editor Dan Q. Dao. It will focus primarily on Vietnamese culture––including food, music, film, lifestyle and profiles––as well as business reporting.
“What we’re primarily trying to do is bridge younger generations, both in Vietnam and the diaspora,” Dao said. “There’s so much interest in Vietnam, and there’s a real focus on looking forward to the future.”
SOURCE : ADweek
