Vietnam Young Lion 2017 - Marketing Finalist - Koto Project

One brief. 48 hours to turn around a proposal. In 2017 I joined hundreds of young marketers from across Vietnam entered the Vietnam Young Lions competition - Marketing Category. It's the biggest and most prestigious national competition to search for the best young professionals under 30 in Vietnam to represent Vietnam in the Young Lions competitions in Cannes, France.

My partner - Mai Ngoc Nhan - and I got shortlisted to be one of the Top 07 in Marketers Category for our proposal. What a wonderful experience!

The client

KOTO - It stands for "Know One, Teach One" and was established in 1999 by Jimmy Pham, a Vietnamese-Australian man who was then working as a tour guide.

KOTO runs a two-year vocational program for underprivileged and at-risk youth in Vietnam -- from ages 16 to 22 -- to help them pursue careers in hospitality so they can go on to work in restaurants, hotels, bars, cafes and in catering.

As part of the program, KOTO runs restaurants - one in Hanoi and another in Ho Chi Minh City -- as well as a training school in the capital. Trainees attend school - where they learn to cook, make drinks, work in front of house as well as attend English classes. The trainees can then apply those skills working at the restaurants.

The challenge

In order to grow sustainably (to train more and more disadvantaged youths), KOTO needs investment from key industries and businesses in Vietnam. This is not an easy task.

It's because the public still has a limited understanding of the concept of social enterprise; people and companies are mistaking KOTO for a charity.

They need help to identify:

• The industries and ways to appeal to the decision makers in those industries to invest in KOTO's growth.

• The benefits or opportunities KOTO can offer to those potential investors

• How to sell KOTO's offers to those industries/ businesses?

• The roles of communication to help achieve this?

Within 48 hours, each team has to develop a communication brief to solve a business challenge. It'll need to perfectly capture information about the product or service, the client organisation and its aims, and the specific goals of the campaign – the kind that will clearly act as a creative springboard for a communication agency. This brief will be judged by a selection of industry experts.

The proposal

KOTO WAY OF TRAVEL

THE MORE YOU ENJOY YOURSELF, THE MORE YOU EMPOWER SOMEONE.

The project aims to offer a pioneering partnership business model between Koto and other hospitality industry players (Tour operators, Travel Agents, Local Restaurants and Resorts, etc). The idea is to highlight how KOTO can apply commercial strategies to maximize benefits for both the disadvantaged children and KOTO's partners in this project, rather than requesting monetary donations from its partners.

Let's have a brief look at the proposal we made within only 48 hours:

The result

Our team was in TOP 7 - Marketing Category - Vietnam Young Lion 2017 Competition.

To compete as a Young Lion was an amazing experience and I am very thankful to the organisers for their fantastic support.