JWT Vietnam Wins Momo

JWT Vietnam has been tapped to help bring MoMo, Vietnam’s first mobile money service, to millions of rural consumers in Vietnam. 

 

MoMo is an offering of M_Service, a mobile money solution provider set up by Vinaphone, the country’s top domestic mobile carrier, in association with Vietcombank, Vietnam’s leading commercial bank. 

M_Service recently concluded a competitive pitch in which JWT has been selected as the winner. This pitch included BBDO, Saatchi and Lowe, among others. 

 

MoMo was officially launched by Vinaphone in 2010 for banked customer only. Under new regulation recently issued by State Bank of Vietnam, MoMo will be re-launched to serve unbanked or underbanked customer who are living in rural areas. 

 

Mobile money allows consumers to store money, transfer money, pay utility bills and top up their mobile phone. Mobile money performs as an extension of the banking system, which is critical in developing markets with large rural populations. Through this service, sending money can be as simple as sending an SMS text message. The mobile money concept came out of the Philippines in 2001 and was later launched in Kenya, where mobile money is now used by 70% of the adult population and has become a driving force of the economy. 

 

“As pioneers of mobile money in this market our ambition is to provide low income customer living in rural areas a convenient way to access payment service through mobile phone. After a thorough evaluation process we have selected JWT as our branding and advertising partner,” said Nguyen Ba Diep, CEO of M_Servive JSC Vietnam. “The JWT team clearly stood out with their insightful understanding of brand adoption among low income consumers and in demonstrating to us how to sell our new concept to the unbanked masses. We felt that for a start-up like ours their collaboration culture is the best-fit.” 

 

Saby Mishra, CEO of JWT Vietnam said, “MoMo is all about financial inclusion of the poor and so it's a game changer for a market like Vietnam where the number of mobile phone owners far exceeds the number of people with bank accounts. This rising country has a 130% mobile penetration; yet 12 million people live on less than 40 cents per day and a total of 80% of its population lack access to financial services. For JWT this is a breakthrough opportunity to take brand building to the bottom of the pyramid in SE Asia’s second most populous country.” 

 

Internet and mobile adoption in Vietnam are very high, especially when compared to other middle-income countries in the region, according to the World Bank. The telecommunications market is also very competitive, and the influx of new players has helped bring prices down and attract new customers who couldn’t afford mobile services before. 

 

“Our excitement about our partnership with M_Service reflects our commitment to, and passion for, Vietnam and other emerging markets,” said Tom Doctoroff, JWT Asia Pacific CEO. “When an agency is given an opportunity to transform the lives of broad swathes of local consumers, that is cause for celebration at JWT.”