Nhu nguyen

In recent days, Vietnam’s social media has heated up with discussions about a marketing campaign from a milk brand. The company advertised a CMO position through a clear and professional job post on LinkedIn, including tasks, responsibilities, and benefits, much like a typical executive job listing. The opportunity to become Chief Marketing Officer of one of the most popular milk brands quickly became highly attractive, drawing more than 200 applications. The post was widely shared, sparking extensive discussion and a flooded comment section, as senior professionals tagged peers and circulated the opportunity within their networks.

Then, several days later, the brand announced that they had found their CMO – not Chief Marketing Officer, but Chief…Milk Officer. The role was given to a four-year-old kid influencer, described as an “expert in tasting good milk”. Applicants also received rejection emails signed with the image and name of the child. This marked the end of the campaign and the beginning of heated, controversial discussions.

Trigger message, wrong implementation

In the age of algorithms, attention is easier to generate than ever before. Bold initiatives and unconventional messaging can quickly spark conversations. Brands are encouraged to “stand out,” “go viral,” and “think outside the box.”

To begin with, the idea itself was not bad. In fact, it was a clever wordplay from a messaging perspective. “Chief Milk Officer,” under the CMO context, could be a creative way to announce a brand ambassador while highlighting the importance of key opinion leaders to the brand. This person would represent a central element of the brand’s marketing effort, embodying the tone, character, and positioning the brand wants to bring to the market. In many ways, this “CMO” could signal how the brand intends to expand, and which new segments or target audiences it aims to engage. From that perspective, this little “CMO” could be powerful in representing what the real CMO would aim to achieve.

However, a good seed of an idea was planted on the wrong platform and executed in a way that created confusion. First, why LinkedIn? This was the primary platform where the brand posted a real executive job listing. But LinkedIn is, first and foremost, a professional platform. People visit it daily not in the mood for jokes, but to find real opportunities, professional updates, and meaningful connections.
Second, we are currently living in an unpredictable hiring market. Finding a good job, avoiding layoffs, and navigating career uncertainty have become more sensitive than ever. Many professionals are already discouraged by ghosted applications, hundreds of “Apply” clicks without responses, and unexpected layoff announcements. In this context, the campaign felt like pouring more water into an already full cup. It is therefore easy to understand why it triggered frustration and, ultimately, anger among many professionals. People shared the post, revised their applications, referred their friends, and actively applied, with many applicants coming from senior and executive levels. These professionals cannot afford to spend their time being part of what ultimately felt like an unserious brand campaign. It reveals a gap in understanding platform mindset and user behavior.

Another point is that the choice of P., one of the most popular kid influencers in Vietnam, and the rebel-style campaign were actually consistent with the brand’s quirky, humorous, Gen-Z-oriented marketing approach. The campaign successfully maximized buzz and engagement on social media. The younger audience, including young people and parents who have followed P. since birth engaged enthusiastically with the campaign. They found it entertaining and felt proud watching this little kid “land” her first high-level role. Many also enjoyed the joke that “when she grows up and applies for jobs, she will already have 16 years of experience at 20 years old”.

In that sense, the brand did reach the right audience. However, due to the poor choice of platform and message execution, the campaign also unintentionally affected another audience group, one that interpreted the campaign very differently. Those who found it funny continued to enjoy it, but those who unintentionally became part of the joke felt increasingly frustrated. It is like joking with people who are not in the mood for jokes, only you end up laughing.

This situation also reflects a lack of empathy and insufficient understanding of both the opportunities and risks in the campaign strategy. The consequence of this unhinged marketing approach can include negative sentiment, weakened brand equity, and potential challenges in employer branding as the brand continues to grow.

Getting it right: Building attention that strengthens trust

Strong brands approach attention with intention. First, they align creativity with credibility. They need to conduct proper stakeholder mapping, and understand who they are talking to, who they want to talk to, and who they may reach in the process of rolling out a campaign idea. Many brands do their best work when engaging their existing audiences, who are already familiar with their tone, patterns, and voice. However, they often struggle when approaching potential customers who may be accustomed to competitors’ messaging or familiar with terms and narratives created by other companies in the market. In response, brands may turn to breakthrough ideas to capture attention and create a strong impression, and this is where they may go wrong. A clear roadmap for acquiring new audiences, along with testing primary and secondary messages across different stages of the campaign, is essential to ensure a smooth and effective launch.

Second, brands should consider long-term brand perception, not just short-term engagement. In today’s market, phrases like “let’s do something no one has done before”, “let’s go viral”, or “social-first” frequently appear in brand briefs. This is especially true for young brands that live, breathe, and grow rapidly alongside social trends. These brands often feel the pressure to respond quickly and stay constantly relevant. They are not only creating content, they are creating trends, short video formats, and real-time comment responses as sources of content. Through this process, they build communities while also learning more about the audiences they are shaping. This can be an effective way to strengthen brand positioning.

However, the most important factor is ensuring that marketers and brand strategists understand how each action contributes to a larger strategic pillar. Brands should not create something appealing simply to catch a passing trend. Instead, they should respond from the right angle and seize opportunities that reflect both the brand’s core values and its future direction.

Third, build attention around quality engagement, not just reach. Trust is built through sustained engagement with audiences, influencers, stakeholders, and communities. For example, for audiences to trust an influencer’s product suggestion, they need to see the influencer actually using the product, ideally across multiple pieces of content over a period of time. This not only leads to a one-time transaction but also builds a stronger belief that encourages repeat purchases.

The same applies to marketing campaigns. If a campaign reflects a relationship-driven approach, attention becomes a natural extension of trust. Strong brands see each campaign as part of an ongoing dialogue with their communities. Every interaction from content and tone of voice to partnerships and campaign execution contributes to how audiences perceive the brand over time. When this relationship is nurtured consistently, audiences become more open to bold ideas, more forgiving of experimentation, and more willing to engage in conversations. In this context, attention is not manufactured through surprise alone, but earned through credibility and familiarity. Then the campaigns feel more authentic and attention evolves into long-term trust and loyalty rather than short-lived buzz.

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The lesson is not that brands should avoid bold ideas, creative risks or new initiatives. On the contrary, creativity remains essential in an increasingly crowded market. But the brands that stand out are those where creativity reinforces trust, rather than undermines it.
Attention gets people to look, and trust gets people to believe. Attention creates a moment, but trust creates momentum.