Advertising in Vietnam: the media landscape

Advertising in Vietnam means operating in a fast-growing, mobile-first market where all broadcast television is state-owned, digital consumption is dominated by global platforms alongside one strong local platform, audience measurement is fragmented across several unreconciled systems, and the regulatory environment is among the most actively managed in the region. Significant new rules take effect on 1 January 2026. For any advertiser building or reviewing a Vietnamese media plan, understanding each of these dimensions before committing budget is not optional, it is the starting point.

Market shape at a glance

Vietnam’s media economy has shifted decisively towards digital, which now accounts for the majority of advertising spend. Most of that spend flows to cross-border platforms that operate largely outside local independent measurement. Television retains its relevance as the primary vehicle for mass reach, particularly at national scale. Out-of-home is a city-level medium with no national footprint. Print and radio play a smaller supporting role.

One caution applies to any figure cited about this market: no single authoritative cross-medium spend currency exists. Published estimates differ widely depending on the source, methodology and whether rate-card or net values are used. Figures from different sources should not be combined into a single total. Monitored spend figures, which reflect rate-card values, typically far exceed actual net spend after negotiated discounts, particularly in television.

For scale: Vietnam has approximately 85 million internet users, more than eighty per cent of the population (DataReportal, 2026).

For comparison across neighbouring markets in the region, the media landscapes hub provides orientation pages structured on the same framework.

Television: state ownership, commercial sales

All broadcast television in Vietnam is state-owned. VTV is the national broadcaster; HTV is owned by the Ho Chi Minh City government; individual provinces operate their own stations. There are no private free-to-air licensees. In practice, private content companies produce and commercially exploit channels and programmes under state broadcasters’ licences through partnership arrangements. They may sell advertising around that content, a distinction that matters commercially to buyers, even though ownership remains with the state.

Advertising time is regulated by law: approximately ten per cent of daily broadcast time for free-to-air and five per cent for pay TV, with per-programme break limits and a prohibition on advertising inside news programmes. Airtime is sold through each broadcaster’s own sales arm, VTV through its advertising centre, and through authorised representatives per station.

Audience measurement is fragmented. Kantar Media Vietnam operates the people-meter panel that agencies have historically used as the de facto currency. The state has built its own television ratings system. In March 2025, VTV launched VTV Ratings, its own multiplatform measurement of its channels and the VTVgo app, published freely. These systems are not reconciled into a single currency. Which measurement a plan is reported in must be agreed explicitly before any campaign begins.

Digital, social and influencer: global platforms, one distinctive local player

Vietnam’s internet user base is large and decisively mobile-first. Facebook, YouTube and TikTok dominate consumption. Zalo is the market’s distinctive local platform, the most-used messaging app in Vietnam, with its own advertising ecosystem. International planners who treat Vietnam as a Meta-plus-Google market will miss a meaningful share of local reach. Retail media on e-commerce platforms is a fast-growing channel that remains largely outside standard industry reporting.

The large majority of digital spend flows to cross-border platforms. Vietnam operates an active cross-border advertising regime: foreign platforms must register and comply with Vietnamese advertising law. The authorities publish an official White List of verified sites and a Black List of infringing sites. Advertisers are required to keep their advertising off listed infringing inventory, and placements adjacent to violating content have drawn enforcement. Cross-border platforms register and pay tax directly through the tax authority’s foreign supplier portal. Buying from unregistered suppliers leaves withholding obligations with the advertiser, affecting net media cost. Social platforms have been required to verify account holders since late 2024; only verified accounts may post or livestream, and flagged content must be removed within twenty-four hours.

Influencer and KOL marketing is a major channel. From 1 January 2026, the law assigns personal legal liability to those who convey advertising: they must verify the advertiser, endorse only products they have actually used or understood, and disclose that content is advertising. Personal data rules also affect targeting: a personal data protection decree has applied since 2023 and a full data protection law takes effect in 2026. This compares in notable ways to the digital environment in neighbouring markets such as Thailand and Indonesia, where cross-border platform governance has followed a different regulatory path.

Out-of-home: a city-by-city exercise

OOH in Vietnam is fragmented across many mostly local operators, with no dominant national player. Permits and placements are controlled by local People’s Committees, and the regulatory regime differs by city. That makes OOH planning a city-by-city exercise rather than a national one. Digital OOH is growing in the major cities. There is no independent audience currency; delivery claims are operator-based.

Radio and audio: a supporting medium

Radio reaches audiences across Vietnam but commands a small share of advertising investment. It operates under state ownership at national and provincial level, with buying handled through individual station sales arms. Audience data is limited and there is no market-wide currency.

Print: newspapers and magazines

Print retains a presence in Vietnam, supported by a relatively active newspaper market and a consumer magazine sector, but it accounts for a small share of total advertising investment. Both segments operate within the state-owned and state-licensed media structure.

Regulation and category restrictions

Vietnam’s advertising regulatory environment is detailed, and the 2026 law introduces meaningful changes. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is the principal advertising regulator, including for online advertising. The Ministry of Health governs health categories. Local People’s Committees administer outdoor and local permits.

Key category rules every advertiser must verify locally:

Alcohol. Advertising spirits of fifteen per cent alcohol and above is prohibited. Drinks between five point five and fifteen per cent face further restrictions, including outdoor and programme-type limits. Beer and other drinks under five point five per cent cannot be advertised on television between 18:00 and 21:00 or around children’s programming. Mandatory health warnings with minimum size rules apply throughout.

Tobacco and gambling. Tobacco advertising is banned. Gambling advertising is effectively banned.

Health and pharmaceutical. Prescription medicines cannot be advertised. The prior confirmation procedure for medicine advertising content was abolished in July 2025 in favour of advertiser self-responsibility, whilst strict content rules remain. Pre-approval still applies to functional foods and supplements, medical services, and children’s nutrition products. Breast-milk substitutes for children under 24 months cannot be advertised.

Comparative and superlative claims. Direct comparative advertising is prohibited. Superlative claims require documented evidence that must be valid for one year; the implementing rules on evidence and fines are being updated in 2026.

Language and local representation. Advertising content must be in Vietnamese, with limited exceptions; in bilingual advertising the Vietnamese text takes precedence. Foreign advertisers without a Vietnamese presence must contract through a licensed Vietnamese advertising entity, a requirement the 2026 law restates explicitly.

These are the categories as they stand. Rules change, and local legal verification is required before any campaign launches.

What to ask when you assess a plan in Vietnam

A Vietnamese media plan deserves scrutiny on several points specific to this market. The following questions are worth raising with any agency or supplier before budget is committed:

• Television measurement: which system is the reporting based on, the agency people-meter panel, the state’s ratings system, or broadcaster self-published figures? Is that agreed in the contract?
• Digital inventory: which figures are platform self-reported? Is all inventory on the White List, and can that be demonstrated?
• Platform coverage: is Zalo in the plan? If not, what is the rationale? Is retail media included anywhere in the reporting, and on what basis is it measured?
• Influencer activity: who carries the legal responsibilities that apply from 2026, verification, endorsement conditions, disclosure, and how is compliance documented?
• Category compliance: is the plan compliant with category-specific rules, including the beer television time window and the categories that still require pre-approval?
• Pricing and tax: what is the gap between rate card and net in this plan, and who retains the difference? Are cross-border platform taxes handled, and by whom?
• Cross-channel totals: are definitions fixed before anything is added up? Which figures are measured and which are modelled?

Selecting and managing a media agency in Vietnam

None of the above scrutiny is straightforward to apply without a point of reference grounded in local practice. A media agency with genuine Vietnamese market knowledge is often the starting point. But the agency relationship itself requires active management, particularly on measurement currency, pricing transparency and regulatory compliance.

How do you select and manage a media agency in Vietnam? covers what to look for in a local agency partner, how to structure the selection, and what ongoing governance looks like in this market.

The yardstick, agreed in advance

The questions in the assessment section above share a common thread: the need to agree the yardstick before any results are reported. In a market where television measurement runs on three unreconciled systems, digital spend flows largely to platforms outside local auditing, and OOH delivery is operator-declared, the definition of success is a contractual matter. Not an assumption.

Trust is good; verifying is better. Vendor-MGT supports advertisers operating in Vietnam with independent guidance on plan assessment, agency selection and ongoing performance verification, paid exclusively by the advertiser, buying and selling nothing.

Frequently asked questions

Who measures TV audiences in Vietnam? Audience measurement in Vietnam is fragmented across three systems: the Kantar Media Vietnam people-meter panel, which agencies have historically used as the de facto currency; a state-operated television ratings system; and VTV Ratings, the national broadcaster’s own multiplatform measurement launched in March 2025. These systems are not reconciled. The measurement currency for any plan must be agreed explicitly in the contract.

What are the biggest advertising platforms in Vietnam? Facebook, YouTube and TikTok dominate digital consumption and receive the large majority of digital advertising spend. Zalo is the market’s distinctive local platform, the most-used messaging app in Vietnam, with its own advertising ecosystem that international planners should not overlook. Television, through the state-owned national and city broadcasters, remains the primary medium for mass reach.

What advertising restrictions should I know about in Vietnam? Key restrictions include a prohibition on spirits advertising above fifteen per cent alcohol, a television time window restricting beer advertising between 18:00 and 21:00, a ban on tobacco and effective ban on gambling advertising, pre-approval requirements for functional foods, supplements, medical services and children’s nutrition products, a prohibition on direct comparative advertising, and a requirement that advertising content be in Vietnamese. Local legal verification is required; rules change.

What is the White List in Vietnamese advertising? The White List is an official list of verified sites and platforms published by the Vietnamese authorities as part of the country’s cross-border advertising regime. Advertisers are required to keep their advertising off inventory listed on the Black List of infringing sites. The authorities present this framework as a brand-safety measure. Confirming that all digital placements fall on White List inventory is a standard due-diligence step for any advertiser operating in Vietnam.

What changes for influencer marketing in Vietnam in 2026? From 1 January 2026, Vietnamese advertising law assigns personal legal liability to individuals who convey advertising, including influencers and KOLs. They must verify the advertiser’s credentials, endorse only products they have actually used or have sufficient knowledge of, and clearly disclose that the content is advertising. Advertisers working with influencers in Vietnam need to confirm that these responsibilities are documented and allocated between the parties before campaigns go live.