Advertising revenue which has seen average annual growth of between 30-35 percent over the last few years, is expected to exceed 3 billion USD by 2020.

Do Kim Dung, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Advertising Association, said despite the economic downturn, the industry’s revenue last year was about 1 billion USD, up 15 percent on the previous year.

He forecast that advertising revenue will continue to sharply rise this year as the economy is recovering.

Meanwhile, advertising firms are increasing spending on marketing, particularly of consumer products, he added.

Dao Van Kinh, vice chairman of the Dat Viet VAC Media and Communication Holding Group, said that firms around the world in the financial and property sectors typically spend most on advertising. However, in Vietnam producers of fast moving consumer goods were the biggest spenders, he said.

Currently, firms spend most on television and newspaper ads. However, industry insiders forecast that online and mobile media channels will post rapid growth in the near future.

“Online and mobile advertising will certainly grow strongly in Vietnam as it is still in its infancy at the moment,” Dung said.

However, Cyril Pereira, from the Asian Publishing Convention, said the speed of the country’s online and mobile ad expansion would depend much on the behaviour of the private sector.

To fully tap the potential of new advertising opportunities in Vietnam , Pereira said a media organisation should be established to properly develop a combination of print and digital channels that can offer customers more choices./.