My Glory Days Are Behind Me
By: Hannah Stoitchkov, CAS ’27
GRIP: Sustainable Development in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
The Pencil Group, based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, is more than a traditional branding agency—it integrates strategic planning, creative design, and digital marketing to deliver solutions for our clients. As part of the internal planning team, I am contributing to projects focused on developing brand positioning strategies and campaign roadmaps for clients across various industries.
My first project was to rebrand SHB Finance’s financial services to be accessible for everyday use. This project was important to Pencil because this was one of the first clients in the financial services industry that wanted to use social media to reach its consumers. My task was to access the macro and micro economic trends influencing consumer behavior, evaluate competitor strategies, and identify opportunities for differentiation. Amidst my research, I noticed that using credit or even mentioning the use of loans was taboo in Vietnam.
To understand the underlying cultural significance of credit use, I went to the wet markets to speak with business owners. With each discussion I asked the same questions, of how they felt about credit, banks, and in general lending money. Business owners usually answered that they have many negative emotions when it comes to borrowing. It is not only the act of borrowing money, but also the act of revealing private information that causes embarrassment and shame. Among this group of interviewees, I focused on women business owners, a key target audience for the campaign. I was inspired by their resilience and resourcefulness in overcoming financial challenges without traditional lending.
One interviewee stood out to me the most as she explained her life story of starting one of the first pharmacies in her area. As the eldest sister, she felt a responsibility to protect her family, particularly as her younger sister suffered from frequent seizures. Over time, she saved enough to open a stall at the wet market, eventually expanding to three shops across town. She proudly noted that she had never taken out a loan or used bank services, relying instead on support from her family, which was common for most business owners. However, this all changed when a foreign pharmaceutical company entered the market, and became a direct competitor. She lost her shops and was left with the original stall. When I asked why she did not use credit to rebuild, she replied, “My glory days are behind me.” This sentiment was common among interviewees, many of whom were content with a steady income rather than pursuing growth. Their “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality stood in sharp contrast to the U.S., where business culture often prioritizes growth and scaling.
It was fascinating to go out and interview real business owners, instead of just researching consumer behavior reports. This project taught me the value of qualitative research and how it provides context for the quantitative data. I learned that there are emotional aspects to these projects that cannot be captured by numbers alone. Hearing personal stories gave me a deeper understanding of the cultural, social, and psychological factors that shape consumer decisions. These insights allowed me to approach the rebrand not only from a market positioning perspective but also from a place of empathy. By integrating these first-hand narratives with market data, I helped position The Pencil Group to deliver a campaign that is both strategically sound and culturally sensitive, therefore strengthening the agency’s reputation for creating authentic connections between brands and their audiences. is the same as my childhood bedroom’s and the breeze is puffing up my hair and I feel immensely lucky that all paths led to me being able to experience this moment now.
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