The energy drink market in Vietnam is valued at over USD 1 billion and Rong Do had dominated it for years. However, as a result of global and emerging local competitors, plus the brand lacking relevance with teens and young adults, Rong Do had lost significant market share and was on the verge of being delisted.

While brand awareness was high, consumers perceived the brand to be dated, unexciting, and unappealing — resulting in declining sales. Rong Do approached us for a brand visual identity that connected with today’s youth, one that would re-win their hearts and minds
while leveraging the brand’s core assets.

We delved deep into the psyche of Vietnam’s youth to better understand what resonated with them, and discovered a generation that has more exposure and opportunity than before. They live life to the fullest — diving into experiences that excite them, expressing themselves freely while presenting themselves in a positive light amongst their peers. This inspired our creative springboard, ‘Unleash Your Dragon’, a proposition that challenges consumers to unshackle their inner passions with Rong Do.

With the brand’s iconic dragon, we unleashed its potential, transforming it from a symbol to an avatar that accurately reflected Vietnam’s youth. Instead of just a new image, we created a flexible series of avatar expressions that embodied various passions ranging from sports to music, and even gaming. Coupled with a specially-crafted typeface, Rong Do was now ready
for relaunch with an exciting range of flavours.

The launch happened after the new visual identity was shown to have a much higher preference rating (1.3x) than the old. Within just five months, Rong Do saw a staggering sales uplift of 80% — resulting in URC further engaging us to launch new flavours in ways that continue to excite consumers and grow the brand. These results have exceeded all expectations and are an incredibly promising start for a pioneering brand that has been rebirthed into a modern aspiration for the youth of Vietnam.

Rong Do now more accurately reflects the passion of an ever-changing generation that seeks to redefine the status quo and takes charge of their own fate. Beyond that, it also has the blueprints needed to create more captivating brand touchpoints to bring the ever-growing brand world to life. This extends into the brands ability to easily expand its portfolio with new and innovative flavours, while continuing to exude the same fiery passion that resonates with Vietnam’s youth.

“Last year’s growth of 30% really exceeded our expectations. This now means we have more opportunities to continuously build and grow Rong Do, and we intend to continue this ascent with Elmwood. They challenged us and pushed creative boundaries through thinking to create something different, reigniting that same spark that made us pioneers before. Thanks to this teamwork and collaboration, we are set on course to grow in the market once more, and we look forward to more successes together.” – Huyen Bui, CMO, URC Vietnam.