RAP VIỆT VS. KING OF RAP, PART 2: THE LESSON FROM THEIR BRANDING STORY
In Part 1, through the story of how Rap Việt and King Of Rap made such a big splash, Big E gave you a clear look into their marketing strategy and the importance of market research. But bringing a product to success obviously takes shrewd business thinking from these “big players” too…
It’s certainly the result of a whole process of “planting” their brand’s success into customers’ minds — professionally known as Branding. So what is Branding? How much power does it have over your brand? And what does the Branding story of Rap Việt and King Of Rap teach us?
HOW RAP VIỆT WON OVER THE AUDIENCE’S HEART COMPLETELY
The media “explosion” around MC Trấn Thành on Rap Việt went from initial controversy to eventual widespread approval. This also became a lever helping Rap Việt get closer to viewers. Trấn Thành acted like a USB port connecting Rap to the mainstream audience. Beyond that, from impersonating Suboi’s voice, to sitting alongside…
The witty laughs and entertaining pull from the KOL lineup’s nicknames also created a strong positive effect for Rap Việt. No need to even discuss Rap Việt’s KOL reach, with names as big as Wowy, Karik, Binz, and Suboi. Combined with this lineup’s playful banter, every episode of Rap Việt was packed with…
Alongside that, the reason Rap Việt won audiences over was its cheerful, colorful performances. As mentioned in Part 1, Rap Việt carries a positive, upbeat sound and down-to-earth, refined lyrics. Rap Việt’s success lies in the positive, humane entertainment side of Hip hop culture.
On Finals Night 1, held on November 7th, MC Trấn Thành revealed a hot piece of news: Rap Việt would put on a special, unprecedented live show to create a stage for rap artists, while giving fans who love rap the chance to fully enjoy and connect with the rappers they…
COMPARED TO KING OF RAP’S BRANDING APPROACH
The way Rap Việt asserted its brand felt like a turning point bringing the product “out of the ground” into the light. On the coaching lineup — no less impressive than King Of Rap’s — Rap Việt treated this as part of its product to reach customers and assert its brand. The coaching panel was full of “heavyweight” names from the Underground…
One difference in branding that King Of Rap couldn’t match was Rap Việt’s booths and pop-up stores. Rap Việt’s pop-up store ran on October 24th and 30th. Following the success of that October 24th pop-up store, another pop-up store for the Rap Việt/VieSHOP collection followed on October 31st.
Rap Việt also leaned hard into small details to catch fans’ attention. It’s no accident that Rap Việt cleverly assigned MCK and Thùy Linh the numbers 01 and 02. One way to build a brand is to make the most of your own best-seller products. Alongside that, rap is the voice of Hip hop, but it’s also…
SPENDING SMART — THE DECISIVE TRUMP CARD IN RAP VIỆT’S BRANDING BATTLE AGAINST KING OF RAP
Back to the “smart economic equation” mentioned in Part 1: Rap Việt cut costs by choosing HTV2 as its TV channel. In contrast, King Of Rap went bold, choosing VTV3’s golden hour. But by making the most of existing media platforms, Rap Việt steered its story…
Alongside that, Rap Việt became fertile ground, opening up plenty of opportunities for brands to reach their target audience. Pepsi was one brand willing to spend generously sponsoring Rap Việt. This is a brand that can weave rap into its media materials to assert its personality and reach…
THE STORY OF PRODUCT SECURITY — RAP VIỆT’S WEAK POINT COMPARED TO KING OF RAP
On the night of October 17th, netizens spread a list of the 8 contestants advancing to Rap Việt’s finals. Some people, claiming to be audience members present at the taping, leaked the results of the Breakthrough round. This leak gives us reason to reflect on the story of product security.
Faced with repeated leaks of the contestant lineup and even the results, many people started questioning Rap Việt’s information-security practices. Alongside that, leaking results is thought to reduce a show’s appeal, since audiences lose interest in following what happens next in the competition…
Even in the gameshow market, the battle to capture audience attention is fiercely competitive. Good branding means good marketing. The differences between Rap Việt and King Of Rap help us recognize a few core lessons in brand-building. Stay tuned for Part 3, “The Top-Tier Business Equation.”