When people talk about Vietnam’s global cultural exports, food and tourism usually dominate the conversation—phở, bánh mì, lantern-lit streets, and breathtaking coastal scenery. However, gaming is emerging as another quiet yet powerful cultural force. And at the heart of this transformation is YouTube, where Vietnamese creators and game publishers are finding not just audiences, but also trust and business impact.
This vision was articulated by Rafael Scislowski, Industry Head of Google Vietnam, during a recent episode of Vietnam Innovators. Having worked across Asia in brand management, tech, and now digital platforms, Rafael has a front-row view of how brands can leverage YouTube’s ecosystem to transform fleeting attention into meaningful engagement, and ultimately into ROI.
From Culture Export to Gaming Powerhouse
In just over a decade, YouTube in Vietnam has grown into a vibrant creator community of more than 140,000 channels surpassing 10,000 subscribers. What’s more striking is the global pull: over half of the watch time for Vietnamese content now comes from international audiences. That means a cooking vlog in Hanoi, a comedy sketch in Saigon, or a livestream from a Da Nang gamer is just as likely to be consumed in Los Angeles or São Paulo as it is locally.
For Rafael, the biggest cultural export opportunity today goes beyond food or music. “Gaming, for sure,” he emphasized. Vietnam has become a hub of talented developers and publishers, producing both casual and hyper-casual games for worldwide audiences. On YouTube, gaming content goes beyond local, riding the platform’s global distribution to reach millions of players abroad.
Why YouTube? From Attention to Trust
If digital marketing in the early 2000s was about buying visibility, today’s challenge is building credibility. Rafael describes this shift as moving from attention to trust. Vietnamese consumers spend around six hours online daily across multiple screens, and 90% of internet users visit YouTube every single day. More than just entertainment, it's the trust creators build that keeps people coming back.
Creators, especially in gaming, cultivate communities through authenticity and interaction. They respond to comments, adapt content based on feedback, and create a two-way dialogue. Over time, this builds credibility that traditional advertising alone cannot achieve. According to Rafael, YouTube users are in a “flow state”. They come intentionally to watch, learn, or engage, rather than passively scrolling. That makes brand messages up to seven times more effective compared to disengaged platforms.
For brands, this means that collaborating with creators is essential. Gaming audiences in particular look to trusted streamers and reviewers to validate new products, be it a console release or a mobile game.
Case Study: VNG and Lineage 2M
One standout example Rafael shared is VNG’s launch of Lineage 2M, a major title in the Vietnamese gaming industry. The campaign showcased how a well-executed YouTube strategy can combine creativity, reach, and authenticity.
Phase 1 – Building Anticipation: VNG tapped into YouTube Shorts to tease the game pre-launch, driving buzz and anticipation.
Phase 2 – Creator Trust: At launch, they partnered with trusted gaming creator Misty, whose authentic playthrough connected directly with her large community. This was a form of endorsement grounded in trust.
Phase 3 – Scale Through Live: VNG turned a YouTube masthead into a livestream, allowing audiences to watch gameplay unfold in real time. This blended mass visibility with interactive engagement, amplifying both reach and impact.
The result was more than views—it was credibility at scale. As Rafael noted, when a trusted creator showcases your game, “it drives a lot of authenticity and belief.”
The Business Impact
Brands prioritize return on investment, and while attention is crucial, YouTube excels in this regard. Research with Nielsen and Kantar shows that YouTube delivers twice the ROI of traditional TV in Vietnam, and about 1.2x stronger ROI than other social platforms.
This is particularly relevant in gaming, where consumers are tech-savvy, mobile-first, and global in their outlook. The ability to reach audiences across screens—CTV, mobile, desktop—gives publishers like VNG a way to scale both locally and internationally. And because over 50% of Vietnamese YouTube watch time comes from overseas, gaming companies can test, launch, and globalize their products directly through the platform.
Lessons for Brands: Building a YouTube Playbook
For Rafael, the first principle is simple but crucial: brands must get the creative right. Half of advertising effectiveness, he reminded, comes from the creative itself. For gaming in particular, that means leaning into formats that feel native to the audience. From gameplay footage, live commentary, to behind-the-scenes storytelling, content speaks to both casual players and hardcore fans.
Equally important is how campaigns balance their media mix. Rafael pointed to a “core mix” where about forty percent of spend goes to non-skippable ads. These formats, often viewed on connected TV screens in Vietnam, deliver strong completion rates and impact, making them ideal for introducing new or complex campaigns. The remaining sixty percent, he explained, should be invested in AI-powered tools like Video Reach and Video View campaigns, which use billions of signals to optimize targeting and deliver broader, more efficient reach.
Success on YouTube also comes from thinking multi-screen and multi-format. Shorts, long-form videos, livestreams, and connected TV all play different roles in a consumer’s daily journey. Gaming is particularly well-suited to this diversity, offering snackable highlights for quick viewing, immersive streams for fans who want to dive deeper, and long-form content that builds lore and community.
At the center of it all are creators. Rafael emphasized that trusted voices in the creator community are the real bridge between brands and audiences. In gaming, their endorsements carry weight because they’re not just promoting a product; they’re interpreting it through their own authentic lens. That authenticity is what turns attention into belief.
Finally, timing matters. Just as food brands often tie campaigns to Tet celebrations, game publishers can align product launches with holidays or major esports tournaments. Seasonal and cultural moments heighten engagement, giving brands a chance to amplify their baseline campaigns with added resonance and urgency.
Vietnam’s Edge in the Global Gaming Arena
Vietnam’s YouTube ecosystem is among the top 10 worldwide in watch time, despite the country ranking only in the top 25 by population. That disproportionate presence reflects both the intensity of local engagement and the country’s export potential.
Gaming, in particular, has several advantages:
Strong developer base producing globally relevant titles.
Cost-effective production compared to larger markets.
Passionate creator ecosystem that amplifies games worldwide.
As Rafael noted, while food and culture will always be pillars of Vietnam’s identity, gaming may well become its most scalable export in the digital economy.
Vietnam’s Trust Dividend
The rise of gaming on YouTube is a story about technology platforms, as well as Vietnam itself. A country that once exported textiles and coffee is now exporting culture, ideas, and entertainment. Gaming sits at the intersection of those ambitions: it is creative, scalable, and inherently global.
Vietnamese developers are proving they can design titles that resonate far beyond their borders, and Vietnamese creators are showing they can build communities that extend from Hanoi to Houston. The fact that more than half of the watch time for Vietnamese YouTube content now comes from international audiences is evidence of that global appetite. What makes this possible is not only technical skill but also a foundation of trust. Players around the world return to Vietnamese games and channels because they feel a sense of authenticity and connection.
This is Vietnam’s dividend in the trust economy. While attention can be fleeting, trust compounds, it translates into influence, loyalty, and commercial success in sectors like gaming. If the past decade was about Vietnam joining the digital conversation, the next one may be about Vietnam shaping it. Gaming, more than any other creative industry, has the potential to carry that story forward.