Amid the context of globalization, alongside traditional methods of promoting the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand, it is necessary to find novel, modern, creative, and more emotionally engaging ways to convey that message.

Buon Ma Thuot has long been recognised as the Robusta coffee “capital” both domestically coupled with globally, possessing large production output, consistent quality, together with an increasingly sophisticated production ecosystem. Yet within the global value chain, Vietnamese coffee in general coupled with Buon Ma Thuot’s in particular still mainly remains at the raw material supplier, while high added value is captured through branding, deep processing, as well as consuming experience.

To reposition the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand not just as a “production site” but as a “coffee culture destination”, digital media is recognized as a crucial pillar, contributing to bringing the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand closer to domestic alongside international connoisseurs. Nevertheless, the greatest challenge right now lies not in technology, but in content.

Content creators on TikTok learning about the coffee brewing process at an enterprise in Ea Kao ward.

Mr. Nguyen Lam Thanh, General Director of Vietnam TikTok, commented: Buon Ma Thuot has no shortage of material – from the history of Central Highlands coffee, the colorful gong culture to the distinctive natural landscapes. The challenge is how to transform those materials into engaging media products that appeal to the tastes of the contemporary audiences.

Media trends show that short videos about the journey “From farm to coffee cup”, the coffee-grower lives or local culture experiences have a stronger reach than purely promotional campaigns. Therefore, the media direction is shifting from “product promotion” to “brand storytelling”. In particular, every entity, from agencies, businesses, localities to individual citizens or content creators, can become a “media channel”, contributing to spreading the Buon Ma Thuot coffee image to the public.

Promoting brand awareness through a digital ecosystem

To boost digital communication, the Dak Lak Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently collaborated with Vietnam TikTok to organize training course to enhance digital communication skills for promoting the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand. The training was provided to digital content creators, officials working in commune and ward authorities, along with businesses province-wide.

A TikTok digital content creator sharing experiences in building the channel.

According to Mr. Tran Hong Tien, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, beyond developing a product, building the brand “Buon Ma Thuot - The world’s finest coffee capital” is essential to promote the image of a region rich in identity, a place where culture, nature, combined with people converge. For sustainable brand dissemination, a modern digital communication ecosystem needs to be formed, involving management agencies, businesses, the press, digital platforms, in coordination with the content creation community.

Within that framework, standardizing messaging, establishing a unified brand identity, strongly developing hashtags like #BuonMaThuotCoffee, expanding the digital communication channel system, in conjunction with promoting multi-stakeholder cooperation are crucial solutions.

It can be affirmed that boosting digital communication is the inevitable journey to elevating the Buon Ma Thuot coffee brand in the current period. Though, the core issue is not about doing a lot or a little, but about doing it strategically and deeply, combined with synchronized participation of the entire society.

When digital communication is effectively utilized, not only is the brand value enhanced, but it also opens up opportunities to accelerate product consumption, evolve e-commerce, alongside experiential tourism, enabling Buon Ma Thuot coffee to become a vibrant coupled with sustainable symbol on the global coffee map.

Translated by TRINH THUY