Global brand, local voice: Rethinking the magazine model in Vietnam
By Joanna Cummings
When Hami Tran launched Marie Claire Vietnam, she didn’t want to create another fashion title telling women what to wear.
“In terms of fashion, we have more than we need,” Tran says. “But in terms of women, we have less than we need.”
For Tran, that meant building Marie Claire around a broader idea of women’s media – combining fashion with feminism, culture, wellness and wider social issues.
“We have developed a particularly strong relationship with film,” she says. “We feature more actors than most fashion magazines in Vietnam, and whenever possible, we time our covers with the release of a new film. This allows us to capture a moment when the artist, the work and the public conversation come together. Such practice is not common in Vietnam before.”
Within seven months, Tran says, the title had produced 24 covers, added 10M+ monthly reach on social media and become one of the country’s leading fashion magazine brands.
The challenge was to make Marie Claire feel distinct in Vietnam, rather than simply importing an international title.
Its casting policy is selective, but not conventional. Marie Claire Vietnam looks for established actors whose talent has earned broad public recognition, while also making room for performers who have yet to receive the attention they deserve.
“We are strict, but we are open,” Tran says. “We may feature a major star, but we are also willing to put someone on the cover before other magazines see their potential, or when others consider that choice too risky. What matters is genuine talent, public credibility and an active career, with meaningful work released within the previous 12 months.”
Start with the DNA
Tran – whose background is in brand marketing – has worked more recently on the launch and development of several international and local media brands in Vietnam, including Elle, L’Officiel, Tatler and Style-Republik.
Each launch starts with defining what the title stands for: “A brand for me is a person,” she says. “A person with DNA.”
That DNA should shape every point of contact, from editorial content and cover choices to events, social media, partnerships and commercial campaigns. The aim is to give the title a clear reason to exist and a recognisable point of view.
“For each of the media brands, I have to understand the DNA, the audience and what are the particular activities that match with the DNA,” she says. “So when we launch the title, people understand what it is and why it is here. That’s why Marie Claire is Fashion, Feminism and Culture. These three words help people remember us.”
For its launch, the title produced three covers representing its three editorial pillars: fashion, feminism and culture.
More than fashion
That positioning has given Marie Claire Vietnam room to cover subjects beyond fashion and beauty.
“We don’t just read about fashion all day,” Tran says. “We do want to know about wellness, about travel, about where to eat, about culture.”
The title also publishes stories on women’s leadership, LGBTQ+ culture, AI and wider social issues. “We want to support women and give women more information and inspiration to be who they are.”
Global credibility, local voice
One reason Tran was drawn to Marie Claire was the freedom its local teams have to shape the brand for their own audiences.
Some international media businesses, she says, maintain much tighter control from their headquarters. “You are sitting in a headquarters office, using the brain of an American to decide what Vietnamese should read,” she says. “I think that is not fair.”
Marie Claire gives its local teams more room to decide how the brand should work in each market.
“For each market, we design a reading experience – how the audience interacts with the brand – in the way we think is better. In the end, we are speaking to the local audience.”
The international name still brings authority and recognition.
For Tran, its value lies in combining that with local understanding. “We use an international, credible voice to speak to the local audience,” she says. “Marie Claire gives us the authority and the credibility to talk to the audience.”
When magazines become agencies
Tran also sees a significant difference in the way publishing businesses are evolving across different markets.
“The industry is very, very different from two sides of the world,” she says. “I look at Marie Claire US and Marie Claire Korea, China, Vietnam – totally different.”
In Asia, publishers are no longer expected to provide media placement alone. Brands increasingly approach them with open briefs, asking for the complete development of a campaign: from the creative idea and talent casting to editorial content, photography, video, social media assets and new technology-led formats.
“Brands want us to operate like an agency that also owns media,” Tran says. “We are now competing with agencies for the same briefs.”
What publishers bring to that competition is more than production capacity. They have an editorial identity, an existing audience and the cultural authority to place a campaign within a wider conversation.
For Marie Claire Vietnam, every commercial project still needs to carry the title’s point of view.
“We always match the story of the brand and the magazine, and then blend them well together in all the campaigns that we do,” she says. “That is what sets Marie Claire apart.”
Fandom adds another dimension to the Asian publishing landscape.
A magazine cover can influence how an actor, singer or V-pop artist is perceived, while also becoming an object that fans collect, discuss and use to demonstrate support. Marie Claire Vietnam has even received requests from fan communities hoping to secure a cover for a particular star.
“Fans pay close attention to which magazines feature their favourite artists,” Tran says. “A cover can become a marker of where that talent stands in the market.”
This creates commercial opportunities, but it also makes editorial judgement more important. A strong fanbase may generate attention, but it does not automatically justify a cover. The artist must still meet Marie Claire Vietnam’s standards of talent, relevance and credibility.
This article originally appeared on our FIPP Congress website.
For more information about our FIPP World Media Congress, click here.
