Foreign companies entering Vietnam are looking beyond global advertising platforms as Zalo remains embedded in everyday digital communication. On Digitals said effective Zalo Ads services depend on local targeting, localized content and a clear path from advertising to customer interaction rather than simply reusing regional media plans.
Vietnam’s online advertising market includes many of the same global platforms used across Southeast Asia. Zalo occupies a distinctive local position. In the first half of 2026, VNG reported that Zalo had 81.3 million monthly active users, up 4% from the same period a year earlier, with around 2.2 billion messages sent each day.
The platform’s business ecosystem has also expanded. VNG’s 2025 annual report said the coverage of Zalo Business Solutions rose from about 100,000 to roughly 150,000 Official Accounts, or OAs, during the year. For foreign brands, that scale makes Zalo relevant not only as a communication app but also as a channel for discovery, brand information and ongoing customer contact.
Zalo is part of the local digital routine
For an international company, entering Vietnam usually means adapting more than language. Media habits, preferred contact channels and the way customers verify a business can differ from one market to another.
Zalo’s advertising system reflects that local ecosystem. Its official advertising resources list formats for Official Accounts, websites, OA articles and video. An OA campaign can support follower growth, while website advertising can send users to a landing page. Article and video formats give brands other ways to introduce information before asking users to take a commercial action.
The important question is not whether every format should be used, but which one matches the customer journey. A retail brand launching in Vietnam may need traffic to a localized product page, while a service company may place more value on building an OA audience or generating direct inquiries.
Advertising still needs local market logic
Zalo Ads allows advertisers to target users by location, gender, age, device platform and selected demographic or interest signals. The system also supports audiences created from customer phone-number lists.
Those options give marketers greater control over distribution, but targeting does not automatically make a campaign local. Foreign brands still need copy, offers and landing pages that match Vietnamese category language, purchasing expectations and customer-service habits.
A campaign developed for another market may be technically reusable while still feeling unfamiliar to local users. Price presentation, product education, seasonal demand and the preferred next step after an advertisement can all affect how audiences respond.
For companies assessing Zalo Ads services, On Digitals said its process starts with understanding business goals, budget and whether the intended customer group is active on the platform before a campaign is planned. The Vietnam-based agency also is also earned a spot as one of Zalo Official Partners
The channel can support more than awareness
Zalo’s user scale makes reach an obvious attraction, but the commercial value of a campaign depends on what happens after an impression.
A website advertisement that sends users to an untranslated or poorly optimized mobile page can introduce friction. An OA campaign may attract followers, but brands still need useful content and a response process if those users later ask about products, availability or support. Video may help establish recognition, but it still needs a next step that fits the campaign objective.
This is particularly relevant for foreign companies entering Vietnam without an established local audience. Broader demographic, interest and location targeting can help test which groups respond, while companies with existing customer data may use eligible phone-number audiences to reconnect with known customers or prospects in accordance with platform and data-use requirements.
The advertising format, destination and follow-up process therefore need to be planned together rather than treated as separate tasks.
Local execution becomes part of media performance
Paid media performance is not determined by media buying alone. Creative adaptation, landing-page readiness, customer response, measurement and ongoing optimization all affect whether advertising activity turns into qualified business outcomes.
On Digitals published Zalo advertising process covers research, planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting. The agency said its work can include Official Account setup, audience selection, budget allocation, ad creation and campaign optimization.
Its Zalo Ads services are positioned for companies that need a local execution layer while entering or expanding in Vietnam. That can be relevant when a regional marketing team understands its brand and broader strategy but has less familiarity with Vietnamese platform behavior or local customer expectations.
Zalo does not necessarily need to replace Google, Meta, TikTok or other paid channels. Its role depends on where a brand’s customers spend time and how they prefer to interact. For some businesses, it may work primarily as an awareness channel. For others, its value may be stronger when advertising is connected with Official Accounts, messaging and local customer support.
As Vietnam’s digital market becomes more competitive, foreign brands have more reason to evaluate local platforms alongside global ones. Zalo’s scale makes the platform difficult to dismiss, but effective advertising still depends on market fit, local execution and a customer journey designed around Vietnamese users.
