Brand Vietnam – The Moment

Trần Tuệ Tri had spent years working in nation branding strategy when she noticed that Vietnam was performing better on global brand indices than most Vietnamese people realised, yet far worse than it could, given the gap between its actual strengths and the story it was telling about itself internationally. The research was there in international reports, the comparative lessons were available from Korea and Singapore and Japan, but no one had assembled it into a book that Vietnamese readers and English-speaking audiences could use as a working guide.

Brand Vietnam – The Moment was written to fill that gap. It is a comprehensive text: part survey of global nation branding practice, part analysis of Vietnam’s current brand position, part practical framework for the individuals, businesses, and policymakers who shape the brand every day without necessarily thinking of it that way. The title refers to a pivotal window of opportunity – the moment at which Vietnam’s economic trajectory and international profile converge in a way that makes deliberate brand-building both possible and urgent.

The book was published in English and Vietnamese by World Publishers in 2024. The Vietnamese edition is distributed through multiple channels; an audiobook edition is available on Fonos. The English edition is on Amazon. Michael Arnold developed the eBook layout and format. The book was designed by Vũ Đình Trí Giảo and edited by Trịnh Hồng Hạnh. It is the first publication from Vietnam Brand Purpose, Trần Tuệ Tri’s organisation for nation and corporate brand strategy, and is intended to be read alongside its follow-up, Blue Dragon Dream – Vietnam Brand 2045.

A country’s brand already exists whether it is managed or not. A book that explains how to manage it is one of the most consequential things a publisher can put into the world.

Most Vietnamese people, and most people who do business with Vietnam, would struggle to articulate what the national brand stands for, how it was built, or what it will take to strengthen it. That gap, between a brand that already has measurable global value and the public understanding required to develop it further, is the problem Trần Tuệ Tri set out to close.

Brand Vietnam – The Moment is the first practical book on Vietnam’s national brand: a 370-page analysis drawing on global surveys and the author’s years of experience in nation branding strategy, supported by case studies from Singapore, Korea, Japan, and other comparable Asian economies. It examines what the Vietnam brand represents today, what it should represent by 2045, and what individuals, businesses, and policymakers can do to get it there. Published in both English and Vietnamese, it is the foundational text of a movement Trần Tuệ Tri has built through her organisation Vietnam Brand Purpose.

“The Vietnam brand has an impact on each of us individually. But do any of us know what the Vietnam brand represents and what we want it to represent? Knowing and understanding this can help Vietnam and ourselves achieve a high position in this competitive and global world.”

“I determined that the Vietnam nation brand is worth 388 billion USD, ranking 33rd in Brand Finance’s Nation Brands annual report in 2021… I hope that lessons from Singapore, Korea, Japan, and so on can be applied flexibly in Vietnam so that we can build a strong Vietnam nation brand. Then we will make a good impression in the international community, and this good impression will benefit all of us.”

— Trần Tuệ Tri, Brand Vietnam – The Moment