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HANOI UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT & TOURISM
--------------oOo---------------
ETHICS AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
GROUP REPORT
(Word count: 4960 words)
Lecturer: Mrs. Le Minh Hang
Group Pororo - Tutorial 2
1. Lê Thị Phương Anh - 2104050005
2. Nguyễn Bảo Châu Anh - 2104050009
3. Phạm Đỗ Bích Ngọc - 2104050035
4. Lê Phương Thảo - 2104050044
Ha Noi, May10
th
2024
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TABLE OF CONTENT
A. ETHICAL ISSUE IN VIETNAM ........................................................................................... 1
1. ONLINE IMAGES ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION .......................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction and context of the issue .............................................................................. 1
1.2. Current situation in Vietnam .......................................................................................... 2
1.3. Consequences and impact .............................................................................................. 3
1.4. Lessons learned and recommendations ......................................................................... 3
2. GREENWASHING .............................................................................................................. 4
2.1. Introduction and context of the issue ............................................................................. 4
2.2.Current situation in Vietnam ........................................................................................... 4
2.3. Consequences and impacts ............................................................................................ 5
2.4. Lesson learnt and recommendation ............................................................................... 6
B. CONTEMPORARY ISSUE .................................................................................................... 6
3. THE APPLICATION OF AI IN GENERATING CONTENT .............................................. 6
4. SHORT-FORM VIDEO AFFECTS PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION OF INFORMATION ....... 8
4.1 Introduction and Context of the Issue ............................................................................. 8
4.2 Current situation in Vietnam ........................................................................................... 9
4.3 Opportunities and Threats to Marketers ....................................................................... 10
4.4 Forecasts and Recommendations .................................................................................. 11
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 12
A. ETHICAL ISSUE IN VIETNAM
1. ONLINE IMAGES ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION
1.1 Introduction and context of the issue
Image abuse was defined as when a photo someone has shared is reused without permission for
commercial purposes, used to facilitate identity theft or misuse (e.g., catfishing), or when intimate
photos are shared without consent. Online image abuse exploits victims through a range of tactics
including sharing of materials, including text, images or videos via online channels. These images
can then be used for revenge ("revenge porn"), blackmail ("sextortion"), or online harassment,
amplifying the initial violation and causing lasting emotional distress.
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Exploitation online images: An individual or group using online platforms to take advantage of an
imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person into sexual and/ or
criminal activity.
According to an image abuse prevention platform in 2023, it surveyed 1,006 Americans, finding
that nearly half (49%) know someone who has had images abused online, even though only 22%
admitted to experiencing it themselves. This suggests significant underreporting, implying many
more victims are unaware of the abuse.
The consequences of such abusive and exploitative acts can be utterly destructive, permeating
every facet of the victim's life and casting a long shadow over their future prospects. Numerous
victims encounter further victimization within their educational institutions, or social circles, and
in some tragic cases, this ordeal has driven individuals to contemplate.
1.2. Current situation in Vietnam
According to lawyer Le Trung Phat - Director of Le Trung Phat Law Firm (Ho Chi Minh City), in
reality, recently, when social media exploded, creating many extra jobs to earn income, many
families use images of their children to earn money. Browsing social media, it's not difficult to see
children often appearing in livestream sales sessions by supporting images or directly participating
in online trading. This somewhat violates the children's lives. The children's images are widespread
across cyberspace. These images can unintentionally be exploited by malicious subjects to commit
illegal acts or be edited, affecting the children's image.
Pamela Hai Duong can be considered one of the most beloved young children at the present time.
Pam has an enormous influence with 1.1M followers on Instagram and 1.7M followers on TikTok.
Despite being only 2 years old, Pam has been sought after by many brands and has impressive
collaboration opportunities. However, there are many conflicting opinions surrounding whether
Salim-Hai Long is exploiting and maximizing Pam's image for their own benefit. Numerous videos
use images of baby Pam to advertise products completely unrelated to children, specifically
cosmetics, but still try to drag Pam into the interaction. Pam's frequent appearances in these clips
make the audience feel the clips are being overly commercialized. The case of Pamela exemplifies
a triple ethical breach. First, it lacks integrity by using a baby's image to promote unrelated
products and prioritizes financial gain over authenticity and potentially misleads viewers. Second,
it's dishonest, portraying Pam's image in a confusing way to promote unrelated products. Finally,
it's unfair to both Pam, who is exploited without consent, and viewers, who may be misled about
the products and develop unrealistic expectations.
Cherry An Nhien, a 6-year-old child actor popular in Vietnamese TV series: “Chúng ta của 8 năm
sau”, “Đừng làm mẹ cáu”,... and advertising campaigns. Her mother frequently shared images and
videos of Cherry with heavy makeup and dancing on social media. This drew negative comments
about Cherry acting too much, inappropriately dancing online, and losing her childhood innocence
due to excessive makeup. A recent photo of Cherry wearing tight clothing and heavy eye makeup
with other actors sparked further backlash over her outfits and heavy makeup for her age. The
constant barrage of negativity, including comments criticizing her appearance, behavior, and
clothing choices, can cause significant emotional distress. Feelings of shame, insecurity, and
anxiety can be a constant battleground for a young child like Cherry, potentially robbing her of a
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carefree childhood. Furthermore, Cherry is unfairly deprived of her fundamental rights as a child
by being subjected to this intense surveillance and loss of privacy, depriving her of her innocence
and the pleasures of a normal childhood. Ultimately, the adults around her are unfairly inflicting
psychological damage on Cherry instead of protecting her wellbeing and allowing her the fair
chance to simply be a child.
The existence of two such high-profile and egregious cases of blatant image exploitation points to
a disturbing and pervasive issue in Vietnam currently. These cases involve the blatant
commodification of childhood innocence, with the images and personas of extremely young
children, aged a mere 2 and 6 years old, being ruthlessly commercialized and monetized by their
parents and managers across various social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok,... This
commodification of childhood is highly unethical. At such tender ages, the children are unable to
properly consent to having their images and likenesses used for commercial purposes and
disseminated so publicly online. Their rights are being violated. Inappropriate sexualization,
especially, Cherry's case features her being made to wear heavy makeup, tight clothing and Dance
suggestively online - levels of sexualization completely inappropriate for a 6-year-old child. The
relentless commercialization and abuse these children face can inflict deep psychological scars,
breeding issues like anxiety, shame, and insecurity that could profoundly impact their emotional
well-being and development. These disturbing cases illuminate a severe and unacceptable issue
that demands urgent attention and action to protect the rights and welfare of vulnerable children in
Vietnam.
1.3. Consequences and impact
The issue goes far beyond just privacy as well as sharing vast amounts of images online creates
significant concerns about their future control over their digital footprint. This digital record could
potentially impact future opportunities or even cause them embarrassment. The cases of Pamela
Hai Duong and Cherry An Nhien perfectly illustrate the dangers of child exploitation on social
media. And, these issues have morphed into a critical ethical issue because it's a privacy violation
with long-lasting psychological harm. The power imbalance inherent in the act and the difficulty
of removing the content online create a constant source of trauma for victims. Prioritizing a child's
well-being should always outweigh the pursuit of online fame or profit.
Children deserve a normal childhood, free from the pressures and negativity that social media can
bring. Furthermore, the ease of sharing normalizes the exploitation and puts the onus on tech
companies to develop better reporting systems and user education to combat this pervasive issue.
1.4. Lessons learned and recommendations
These egregious cases have shed light on how children's rights are being violated through lack of
consent and invasion of privacy for commercial exploitation online, as well as the severe
psychological damages caused by rampant cyberbullying of child victims. Clearly, stronger
regulations banning sexualized portrayals and oversharing of children's images without proper
consent, especially for commercial purposes, are urgently needed. Therefore, fostering ethical
practices by definitively establishing what children's content is appropriate, implementing robust
age-verification for creators, and encouraging social media companies to proactively monitor
exploitative material are vital steps. Most importantly, a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach
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involving government, technology firms, children's advocacy groups, counseling resources for
victims, and even potential commissions to investigate serious cases can help curb this
unacceptable exploitation. Only by learning from these cases and implementing comprehensive
legal, ethical and support frameworks can Vietnam make substantive progress in protecting its
vulnerable children.
2. GREENWASHING
2.1. Introduction and context of the issue
Greenwashing is the act of misleading consumers regarding a company's environmental activities
or the environmental benefits of a product or service. In response to the demand for "greening" the
economy, many governments have implemented policies to encourage environmentally friendly
products. As a result, some businesses, seeking both policy benefits and increased profits (as green
products often have higher prices), have abused green claims and eco-labeling. They exaggerate
or distort information, causing confusion or misunderstandings among consumers, and in some
cases, outright falsehoods (Trang Linh et all, 2022).
In the global scenario, there is some significant numbers about the “greenwashing” according to
Reprisk’ data:
- From September 2022 to September 2023, the proportion of climate-linked risk incidents
attributed to companies engaging in greenwashing, increased from 20% to 25%.
- There was a 35% overall increase in instances of greenwashing, with a significant 70% rise
specifically in the financial services and banking sectors. In terms of frequency, the
financial sector ranks second after the oil and gas industry in the number of incidents
recorded in the past two years.
- 54% of companies in Asia, Europe, and North America misrepresented their records
regarding greenhouse gas emissions, global pollution, and other matters related to climate
change.
- Many of the social issues were closely tied to environmental issues, documenting 1,544
environmental and social issues.
The phenomenon of greenwashing is becoming increasingly serious worldwide. Misleading
environmental claims by companies contribute to heightened climate-related risks. This
underscores the need for stricter monitoring and management to verify and disclose environmental
information. Strengthened regulations and controls are necessary to ensure transparency and
honesty in reporting the environmental impact of companies and industries.
2.2.Current situation in Vietnam
a. Vinamilk dairy farm discharges waste into the environment
Vinamilk is the largest dairy company in Vietnam, established in 1976. Throughout its operations,
Vinamilk has aimed for sustainable development, including environmental protection and effective
control and treatment of emissions (Vinamilk, n.d.). However, the Vinamilk dairy farm in Huong
Son, Ha Tinh, has caused inconvenience and discomfort to local residents due to the foul odor from
the farm's waste. Not only does it contribute to air pollution, but the local water sources are also
severely affected (Quynh, Dat, 2020).
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Despite the environmental violations and shortcomings in waste management, the dairy farm has
not faced legal consequences or strong enforcement measures from the authorities. This indicates
that the local government is turning a blind eye to the deceptive actions of local businesses.
b. Fraudulent about the origin of VietGap vegetables
In 2022, Winmart supermarket was found to have deceived customers regarding the origin of
VietGap-certified vegetables. Trinh Nhi Agricultural Products served as the supplier of vegetables
to Winmart stores. However, contrary to the VietGap label, the products originated from wholesale
markets and were later packaged as VietGap-certified before being sold at Winmart supermarkets.
The prices of these products at the wholesale markets were significantly lower than the standard
VietGap produce. Therefore, to increase profits, the company misled its customers (Mai et all,
2022).
Regarding the responsibility of Winmart, the company showed negligence and carelessness in
verifying the origin and quality of the input products, resulting in a highly serious incident.
Following this incident, market management authorities have announced that they will conduct
extensive inspections to detect and strictly address any business activities involving vegetables and
fruits with unclear origins and lacking food safety guarantees (An Nhien, 2022).
Similar to the operations of Trinh Nhi Agricultural Products and Winmart, Dong A Company also
engaged in similar practices by sourcing vegetables from wholesale markets and selling them at
Bach Hoa Xanh with VietGap certification (Bong Mai et all, 2022).
Based on these case studies, the prevalence of greenwashing in Vietnam remains a common issue,
quietly impacting consumers. This demonstrates that businesses are exploiting the trust of
stakeholders to increase their revenue. However, the government has yet to implement effective
measures or strong sanctions to deter such unethical behaviors.
2.3. Consequences and impacts
Greenwashing is being detected with increasing scale and frequency in businesses. In particular,
in the context of increasing awareness of environmental protection, greenwashing brings
significant impacts:
- To the company: Company can have a huge damage on the brand reputation as well as
decrease the brand trust
- To the consumer: Consumers would feel misled and cheated. When consumers believe that
they are using environmental-friendly products, they will minimize other environmental
protection activities. This hinders progress towards true sustainability.
- To the investors: Many businesses fake the report or data about the sustainability to beautify
the ESG index, thereby distorting the key metrics that individuals or the market are using
to make ESG investment decisions.
- To the competitors: Companies that are truly environmentally conscious will be at a
disadvantage due to unfair competition as greenwashing becomes widespread. Consumers
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can become skeptical about sustainability claims, making it difficult for legitimate green
initiatives to gain trust and support.
2.4. Lesson learnt and recommendation
Through these cases, Vietnam has identified shortcomings in the management and inspection of
business operations and production. Additionally, the legal framework regarding greenwashing
still lacks effective deterrence. To minimize this issue, the government needs to strengthen the
Vietnamese legal system concerning greenwashing and enhance oversight and control of business
activities. Marketers should also be equipped with knowledge about greenwashing and be attentive
and cautious in making claims that align with the actual business practices to avoid
misunderstandings.
B. CONTEMPORARY ISSUE
3. THE APPLICATION OF AI IN GENERATING CONTENT
In recent years, the thrive of AI tools has been affecting the way people create content on media
platforms, not only internationally but also in Vietnam. A Vietnamese article from Information and
Communication magazine (2023) showed that using AI can reduce content creation time by 5 to
10 times and channel metrics have an increase of up to 25.68% since adopting AI. From that data,
we can see that AI can create content rapidly but with less time and with higher performance.
Before further analysis, what is AI - generated content (AIGC)? David Gross (2024) stated that AI
- generated content refers to any form of digital material created by artificial intelligence. He also
said that these AI systems, “powered by machine learning and natural language processing”, learn
and analyze vast datasets to imitate humans in general. Therefore, they can be applied to many
fields and aspects such as SEO content, social posts, design, video/ music making process, etc.
These following sections will delve into a few examples of applying AI to create content in
Vietnam context.
a. . The controversies of using AI to design advertising poster
According to information from Advertising Vietnam (2024), the boom of ChatGPT has paved the
way for the widespread popularity of AI graphic design tools, attracting thousands of users and of
course, that is also the case in Vietnam.
Pepsi, a famous soft drink brand in Vietnam, had actually utilized AI in their 2024 Tet’s campaign.
Like many other brands, they also had OOH billboards but they used AI to assist in designing their
key visuals as well as collaborated with Zalo to generate AI profile pictures, bringing the campaign
and its message closer to the audience (Brands Vietnam, 2024).
However, not every case can be successful. Tuổi trẻ newspaper (2024) had mentioned about the
case of the movie “Hoa Học Trò” which they used AI generated posters and their audience noticed
some design errors, creating controversies for not being attentive towards their own promoting
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poster. Or the case of University of Architect HCM city who used AI generated poster for one of
their posts while being an art school itself and that raised questions about the school’s ethics.
Therefore, it is safe to say that despite the benefits that AI can bring, there are still controversies
about using AI generated posters when it comes to ethics and quality issues.
b. . AI influencer
Research from The Influencer Marketing Factory (2022) showed that 58% of interviewees follow
at least a digital influencer on social media, creating a massive opportunity for this new era of
influencer in creating content. There are agencies in Vietnam that have done this before and one
of them is T&A Ogilvy.
In 2020, T&A Ogilvy collaborated with Colory to introduce Toc Tien AI CLear Head for promoting
a campaign of Clear - a hair care brand. By using up to date programs, Toc Tien Clear Head can
be compared as the twin version of the original. The campaign achieved impressive results with
1.1 million interactions, 53% positive discussion rate, forecasted a bright future for virtual
influencers in Vietnam. After that they also introduced E.M ƠI - the first virtual model in Vietnam
and she had appeared in some collections from Vietnam local brands.
The reason why they use AI influencers is because AI influencers are cost - effective compared to
the real one and flexible with changes from the brand.
Vietnamese virtual influencers, despite media presence and their benefits, haven't gained much
traction. In other words, the audience is simply not that interested in them. This might be because
there are too many influencers on the internet with distinctive personalities, so having virtual
influencers with no specific personality seems unnecessary and inauthentic, especially when
people follow influencers that are relatable and can represent their audience. However, with the
growing AI industry, the market potential for AI influencers remains high.
c. . AI - generated SEO content
AI can be a powerful tool when it comes to SEO. They have significant benefits for keyword
research and optimization, two crucial SEO aspects. It quickly scans through large datasets to find
relevant keywords and make sure your material is aimed at a variety of consumers across various
places. It was reported that 65% of businesses reported improving their SEO results with higher
ranking since adopting AI (Loktionova, 2024)
To have further information, we contacted Mr. Nguyen Cao Khanh who has years of experience in
SEO & Branding and is also a founder of a marketing agency in Hanoi.
About the use of AI content for SEO practice, he said “AI can not create new content, it only
synthesizes existing things then gives answers based on that and by doing so, creates more “trash”
on the internet”. Basically, what he wanted to say was that AI needs human’s input onto the internet
to work properly and can not replace humans entirely.
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Because of that mass usage of AI, Google is actually punishing websites that take advantage of AI
entirely for creating more “trash”. These websites’ traffic are declining heavily despite having
millions prior.
He also stated that Google is not against using AI to write SEO content, they are just against AI
being the author of the content. By that, he meant:
- AI content must also have humans responsible for reviewing it, only humans can be
responsible for what they publish.
- AI should only contribute to one part of the content production process such as giving
writers suggestions, references, and ideas.
- AI Content can replace humans but it only replaces certain, low-level jobs. If creators want
to not be replaced, they must create better content with more value than what is available
on the internet.
From these 3 pressing issues, we can conclude that:
- AI - generated content in Vietnam are now thriving across various fields but there are
controversies and downsides come along if creators do not use it properly
- AI should be used as a tool to create content, not the author. Human should be the final
step in the process to reviewing and publishing
- It is true that AI is thriving but not all AI creation is well - received by the audience
- Creator should focus on creating high valued content if do not want to be replaced
In the foreseeable future, AI - generated content will continue to develop. That is for sure since it
brings countless benefits for businesses in general and content creators in specific. Therefore,
content creators should learn how to effectively utilize those tools and leverage their creative,
brainstorming, writing skills, etc instead of completely relying on AI.
4. SHORT-FORM VIDEO AFFECTS PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION OF INFORMATION
4.1 Introduction and Context of the Issue
This piece is a bit over “4000” words.
And from the start, I assumed you didn't want to read it. Or maybe you want to, but just think that
you will have to read - look through it manually. In most cases, you want to read something shorter
and it would be best if the text magically transforms itself into a video that also plays in your native
language.
A recent study by Microsoft found that the average Internet user now has an attention span of just
8 seconds - even shorter than the attention span of a goldfish. But instead of content being produced
to help us increase our focus, most platforms and publications do the opposite, tailoring their
content to suit our inability to concentrate during the day more than 10 seconds. And instead of
tailoring our media to the content, we tailor our content to the media.
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Definition: In general, a short-form video is any video that lasts less than sixty seconds. A
shortform video should ideally be between 30 and 60 seconds long, though the precise duration
will depend on the platform you're using. (Elizabeth Harris, 2024)
You may feel like you've learned a lot from short-form content, but it often provides only
superficial knowledge. Short videos cannot help us understand complex topics in depth. Many
studies show that rapidly interacting with numerous short information streams can reduce our
ability to concentrate (Yi it Bozok, 2022). Furthermore, crucial context is frequently left out ofǧ
short-form content due to its shortened and hurried nature. This omission may result in inaccurate
information, a lack of proof, and the retention of only controversial elements, all of which may
foster misunderstandings and spread quickly, potentially causing harm. One significant drawback
of shorter attention spans is an increased susceptibility to distraction, making it difficult to focus
on tasks and potentially leading to decreased productivity and lowerquality work. According to
neurologist Dr. Sanam Hafeez, the habit of excessive consumption (binge-watching) of short
videos is a “dopamine chase”. Every time we watch a video we like, our brain is "rewarded" with
dopamine, which brings a feeling of excitement. The random reinforcement mechanism increases
addiction: without knowing when the content we like will appear, the more videos we watch, the
more likely we are to repeat dopamine.
4.2 Current situation in Vietnam
95% of Vietnamese users use the internet to watch videos every month. 68% of users watch videos
at least once a day. On average a day, Vietnamese users watch 2.1 times short videos (under 3
minutes), 1.7 times medium videos (from 3 - 10 minutes) and 1.5 times long videos (over 10
minutes) (WARC, n.d). According to a report conducted by TikTok on the shopping behavior of
users in Vietnam during the 2023 Holiday season, up to 69% of users prioritize watching short-
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form videos to learn about products and services. Of these, 84% of users are convinced to buy the
brand's products and services.
Lao Dong Newspaper interviewed 2 readers about the problem of short video addiction: Ngọc
Thảo, a 20-year-old student, confesses to being heavily addicted to short videos, spending up to 18
hours a day on her phone. She initially believed that watching a few seconds of these videos
wouldn't consume much time, but found herself getting engrossed and unable to stop after
watching 2-3 videos. Her favorite content is movie reviews, where she can quickly grasp the plot
without having to watch the entire film. She jumps from one movie summary to another, sometimes
spending an entire night searching for different parts of the same movie to watch. Although she is
aware of the negative effects of staying up late and using her phone, breaking the habit has proven
difficult. She has tried deleting TikTok and Facebook to avoid watching videos but ends up
reinstalling them after a few hours due to the addictive nature of short videos.
Mai Tuấn An, a 25-year-old office worker, faces a similar situation. After long hours of work, he
turns to social media for entertainment. He admits to using short videos to tire his eyes and aid
sleep on nights when he struggles to fall asleep. However, the more he watches, the more awake
he becomes. He switches between platforms, moving from TikTok to Facebook when he gets
bored.
In Vietnam, many cases have been punished for spreading false information and cutting context on
TikTok. (Khanh An, 2023. Most recently, the image of Luom, the little boy in a poem composed
by the famous revolutionary poet (To Huu, has been distorted with ridiculous lyrics, but they have
quickly become trendy. (Van Anh, 2023)
The rise of short video content in Vietnam has had a profound influence on people's perception of
information. With a large percentage of internet users regularly consuming videos, particularly
short-form content, it has become a dominant medium for communication and entertainment.
4.3 Opportunities and Threats to Marketers
Short-form video is a double-edged sword for users and especially marketers. They're perfect for
capturing attention with quick, entertaining content on the platforms your audience is already
using. This can lead to increased engagement, viral potential, and reaching target audiences
through influencer marketing.
While short video content opens up many opportunities to reach and interact with customers, it
also brings some big challenges for marketers. Difficulty conveying complex messages,
fragmented audience attention, risk of misinformation and brand safety issues, higher marketing
costs, and difficulty measuring effectiveness are the main threats that need to be identified and
addressed. To be successful, marketers need to focus on strategy, make appropriate investments,
continuously innovate, and be able to respond to this rapidly changing short video content
environment. While short videos are trending, marketers need to consider the benefits of longform
videos to convey detailed stories and leverage SEO, despite facing the challenges of limited
attention and content competition.
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4.4 Forecasts and Recommendations
According to Infinity Business Insights, the global Short-Form Video market size was valued at
USD 1.55 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of
10.5% during the forecast period 2024-2030. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and
machine learning will enable more personalized and engaging short-form video experiences,
tailored to individual preferences and behaviors (Zack Bowlby, 2023). The rise of immersive
technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), will create new
opportunities for interactive and experiential short-form video content.
To win in the short-form video trends, marketers should adopt a comprehensive approach. First,
create captivating narratives that seamlessly integrate your brand message. Second, leverage data
to understand your audience's preferences and tailor your content accordingly. Finally, collaborate
with authentic influencers who resonate with your target market to boost reach and credibility.
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lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076 HANOI UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT & TOURISM
--------------oOo---------------
ETHICS AND CONTEMPORARY ISSUES GROUP REPORT (Word count: 4960 words) Lecturer: Mrs. Le Minh Hang Group Pororo - Tutorial 2 1.
Lê Thị Phương Anh - 2104050005 2.
Nguyễn Bảo Châu Anh - 2104050009 3.
Phạm Đỗ Bích Ngọc - 2104050035 4.
Lê Phương Thảo - 2104050044 Ha Noi, May10th 2024 0 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076 TABLE OF CONTENT
A. ETHICAL ISSUE IN VIETNAM ........................................................................................... 1
1. ONLINE IMAGES ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION .......................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction and context of the issue .............................................................................. 1
1.2. Current situation in Vietnam .......................................................................................... 2
1.3. Consequences and impact .............................................................................................. 3
1.4. Lessons learned and recommendations ......................................................................... 3
2. GREENWASHING .............................................................................................................. 4
2.1. Introduction and context of the issue ............................................................................. 4
2.2.Current situation in Vietnam ........................................................................................... 4
2.3. Consequences and impacts ............................................................................................ 5
2.4. Lesson learnt and recommendation ............................................................................... 6
B. CONTEMPORARY ISSUE .................................................................................................... 6
3. THE APPLICATION OF AI IN GENERATING CONTENT .............................................. 6
4. SHORT-FORM VIDEO AFFECTS PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION OF INFORMATION ....... 8
4.1 Introduction and Context of the Issue ............................................................................. 8
4.2 Current situation in Vietnam ........................................................................................... 9
4.3 Opportunities and Threats to Marketers ....................................................................... 10
4.4 Forecasts and Recommendations .................................................................................. 11
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 12 A. ETHICAL ISSUE IN VIETNAM
1. ONLINE IMAGES ABUSE AND EXPLOITATION
1.1 Introduction and context of the issue
Image abuse was defined as when a photo someone has shared is reused without permission for
commercial purposes, used to facilitate identity theft or misuse (e.g., catfishing), or when intimate
photos are shared without consent. Online image abuse exploits victims through a range of tactics
including sharing of materials, including text, images or videos via online channels. These images
can then be used for revenge ("revenge porn"), blackmail ("sextortion"), or online harassment,
amplifying the initial violation and causing lasting emotional distress. 1 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
Exploitation online images: An individual or group using online platforms to take advantage of an
imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or young person into sexual and/ or criminal activity.
According to an image abuse prevention platform in 2023, it surveyed 1,006 Americans, finding
that nearly half (49%) know someone who has had images abused online, even though only 22%
admitted to experiencing it themselves. This suggests significant underreporting, implying many
more victims are unaware of the abuse.
The consequences of such abusive and exploitative acts can be utterly destructive, permeating
every facet of the victim's life and casting a long shadow over their future prospects. Numerous
victims encounter further victimization within their educational institutions, or social circles, and
in some tragic cases, this ordeal has driven individuals to contemplate.
1.2. Current situation in Vietnam
According to lawyer Le Trung Phat - Director of Le Trung Phat Law Firm (Ho Chi Minh City), in
reality, recently, when social media exploded, creating many extra jobs to earn income, many
families use images of their children to earn money. Browsing social media, it's not difficult to see
children often appearing in livestream sales sessions by supporting images or directly participating
in online trading. This somewhat violates the children's lives. The children's images are widespread
across cyberspace. These images can unintentionally be exploited by malicious subjects to commit
illegal acts or be edited, affecting the children's image.
Pamela Hai Duong can be considered one of the most beloved young children at the present time.
Pam has an enormous influence with 1.1M followers on Instagram and 1.7M followers on TikTok.
Despite being only 2 years old, Pam has been sought after by many brands and has impressive
collaboration opportunities. However, there are many conflicting opinions surrounding whether
Salim-Hai Long is exploiting and maximizing Pam's image for their own benefit. Numerous videos
use images of baby Pam to advertise products completely unrelated to children, specifically
cosmetics, but still try to drag Pam into the interaction. Pam's frequent appearances in these clips
make the audience feel the clips are being overly commercialized. The case of Pamela exemplifies
a triple ethical breach. First, it lacks integrity by using a baby's image to promote unrelated
products and prioritizes financial gain over authenticity and potentially misleads viewers. Second,
it's dishonest, portraying Pam's image in a confusing way to promote unrelated products. Finally,
it's unfair to both Pam, who is exploited without consent, and viewers, who may be misled about
the products and develop unrealistic expectations.
Cherry An Nhien, a 6-year-old child actor popular in Vietnamese TV series: “Chúng ta của 8 năm
sau”, “Đừng làm mẹ cáu”,... and advertising campaigns. Her mother frequently shared images and
videos of Cherry with heavy makeup and dancing on social media. This drew negative comments
about Cherry acting too much, inappropriately dancing online, and losing her childhood innocence
due to excessive makeup. A recent photo of Cherry wearing tight clothing and heavy eye makeup
with other actors sparked further backlash over her outfits and heavy makeup for her age. The
constant barrage of negativity, including comments criticizing her appearance, behavior, and
clothing choices, can cause significant emotional distress. Feelings of shame, insecurity, and
anxiety can be a constant battleground for a young child like Cherry, potentially robbing her of a 2 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
carefree childhood. Furthermore, Cherry is unfairly deprived of her fundamental rights as a child
by being subjected to this intense surveillance and loss of privacy, depriving her of her innocence
and the pleasures of a normal childhood. Ultimately, the adults around her are unfairly inflicting
psychological damage on Cherry instead of protecting her wellbeing and allowing her the fair chance to simply be a child.
The existence of two such high-profile and egregious cases of blatant image exploitation points to
a disturbing and pervasive issue in Vietnam currently. These cases involve the blatant
commodification of childhood innocence, with the images and personas of extremely young
children, aged a mere 2 and 6 years old, being ruthlessly commercialized and monetized by their
parents and managers across various social media platforms like Facebook, TikTok,... This
commodification of childhood is highly unethical. At such tender ages, the children are unable to
properly consent to having their images and likenesses used for commercial purposes and
disseminated so publicly online. Their rights are being violated. Inappropriate sexualization,
especially, Cherry's case features her being made to wear heavy makeup, tight clothing and Dance
suggestively online - levels of sexualization completely inappropriate for a 6-year-old child. The
relentless commercialization and abuse these children face can inflict deep psychological scars,
breeding issues like anxiety, shame, and insecurity that could profoundly impact their emotional
well-being and development. These disturbing cases illuminate a severe and unacceptable issue
that demands urgent attention and action to protect the rights and welfare of vulnerable children in Vietnam. 1.3. Consequences and impact
The issue goes far beyond just privacy as well as sharing vast amounts of images online creates
significant concerns about their future control over their digital footprint. This digital record could
potentially impact future opportunities or even cause them embarrassment. The cases of Pamela
Hai Duong and Cherry An Nhien perfectly illustrate the dangers of child exploitation on social
media. And, these issues have morphed into a critical ethical issue because it's a privacy violation
with long-lasting psychological harm. The power imbalance inherent in the act and the difficulty
of removing the content online create a constant source of trauma for victims. Prioritizing a child's
well-being should always outweigh the pursuit of online fame or profit.
Children deserve a normal childhood, free from the pressures and negativity that social media can
bring. Furthermore, the ease of sharing normalizes the exploitation and puts the onus on tech
companies to develop better reporting systems and user education to combat this pervasive issue.
1.4. Lessons learned and recommendations
These egregious cases have shed light on how children's rights are being violated through lack of
consent and invasion of privacy for commercial exploitation online, as well as the severe
psychological damages caused by rampant cyberbullying of child victims. Clearly, stronger
regulations banning sexualized portrayals and oversharing of children's images without proper
consent, especially for commercial purposes, are urgently needed. Therefore, fostering ethical
practices by definitively establishing what children's content is appropriate, implementing robust
age-verification for creators, and encouraging social media companies to proactively monitor
exploitative material are vital steps. Most importantly, a coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach 3 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
involving government, technology firms, children's advocacy groups, counseling resources for
victims, and even potential commissions to investigate serious cases can help curb this
unacceptable exploitation. Only by learning from these cases and implementing comprehensive
legal, ethical and support frameworks can Vietnam make substantive progress in protecting its vulnerable children. 2. GREENWASHING 2.1.
Introduction and context of the issue
Greenwashing is the act of misleading consumers regarding a company's environmental activities
or the environmental benefits of a product or service. In response to the demand for "greening" the
economy, many governments have implemented policies to encourage environmentally friendly
products. As a result, some businesses, seeking both policy benefits and increased profits (as green
products often have higher prices), have abused green claims and eco-labeling. They exaggerate
or distort information, causing confusion or misunderstandings among consumers, and in some
cases, outright falsehoods (Trang Linh et all, 2022).
In the global scenario, there is some significant numbers about the “greenwashing” according to Reprisk’ data:
- From September 2022 to September 2023, the proportion of climate-linked risk incidents
attributed to companies engaging in greenwashing, increased from 20% to 25%.
- There was a 35% overall increase in instances of greenwashing, with a significant 70% rise
specifically in the financial services and banking sectors. In terms of frequency, the
financial sector ranks second after the oil and gas industry in the number of incidents
recorded in the past two years.
- 54% of companies in Asia, Europe, and North America misrepresented their records
regarding greenhouse gas emissions, global pollution, and other matters related to climate change.
- Many of the social issues were closely tied to environmental issues, documenting 1,544
environmental and social issues.
The phenomenon of greenwashing is becoming increasingly serious worldwide. Misleading
environmental claims by companies contribute to heightened climate-related risks. This
underscores the need for stricter monitoring and management to verify and disclose environmental
information. Strengthened regulations and controls are necessary to ensure transparency and
honesty in reporting the environmental impact of companies and industries.
2.2.Current situation in Vietnam
a. Vinamilk dairy farm discharges waste into the environment
Vinamilk is the largest dairy company in Vietnam, established in 1976. Throughout its operations,
Vinamilk has aimed for sustainable development, including environmental protection and effective
control and treatment of emissions (Vinamilk, n.d.). However, the Vinamilk dairy farm in Huong
Son, Ha Tinh, has caused inconvenience and discomfort to local residents due to the foul odor from
the farm's waste. Not only does it contribute to air pollution, but the local water sources are also
severely affected (Quynh, Dat, 2020). 4 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
Despite the environmental violations and shortcomings in waste management, the dairy farm has
not faced legal consequences or strong enforcement measures from the authorities. This indicates
that the local government is turning a blind eye to the deceptive actions of local businesses.
b. Fraudulent about the origin of VietGap vegetables
In 2022, Winmart supermarket was found to have deceived customers regarding the origin of
VietGap-certified vegetables. Trinh Nhi Agricultural Products served as the supplier of vegetables
to Winmart stores. However, contrary to the VietGap label, the products originated from wholesale
markets and were later packaged as VietGap-certified before being sold at Winmart supermarkets.
The prices of these products at the wholesale markets were significantly lower than the standard
VietGap produce. Therefore, to increase profits, the company misled its customers (Mai et all, 2022).
Regarding the responsibility of Winmart, the company showed negligence and carelessness in
verifying the origin and quality of the input products, resulting in a highly serious incident.
Following this incident, market management authorities have announced that they will conduct
extensive inspections to detect and strictly address any business activities involving vegetables and
fruits with unclear origins and lacking food safety guarantees (An Nhien, 2022).
Similar to the operations of Trinh Nhi Agricultural Products and Winmart, Dong A Company also
engaged in similar practices by sourcing vegetables from wholesale markets and selling them at
Bach Hoa Xanh with VietGap certification (Bong Mai et all, 2022).
Based on these case studies, the prevalence of greenwashing in Vietnam remains a common issue,
quietly impacting consumers. This demonstrates that businesses are exploiting the trust of
stakeholders to increase their revenue. However, the government has yet to implement effective
measures or strong sanctions to deter such unethical behaviors. 2.3. Consequences and impacts
Greenwashing is being detected with increasing scale and frequency in businesses. In particular,
in the context of increasing awareness of environmental protection, greenwashing brings significant impacts:
- To the company: Company can have a huge damage on the brand reputation as well as decrease the brand trust
- To the consumer: Consumers would feel misled and cheated. When consumers believe that
they are using environmental-friendly products, they will minimize other environmental
protection activities. This hinders progress towards true sustainability.
- To the investors: Many businesses fake the report or data about the sustainability to beautify
the ESG index, thereby distorting the key metrics that individuals or the market are using
to make ESG investment decisions.
- To the competitors: Companies that are truly environmentally conscious will be at a
disadvantage due to unfair competition as greenwashing becomes widespread. Consumers 5 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
can become skeptical about sustainability claims, making it difficult for legitimate green
initiatives to gain trust and support.
2.4. Lesson learnt and recommendation
Through these cases, Vietnam has identified shortcomings in the management and inspection of
business operations and production. Additionally, the legal framework regarding greenwashing
still lacks effective deterrence. To minimize this issue, the government needs to strengthen the
Vietnamese legal system concerning greenwashing and enhance oversight and control of business
activities. Marketers should also be equipped with knowledge about greenwashing and be attentive
and cautious in making claims that align with the actual business practices to avoid misunderstandings. B. CONTEMPORARY ISSUE
3. THE APPLICATION OF AI IN GENERATING CONTENT
In recent years, the thrive of AI tools has been affecting the way people create content on media
platforms, not only internationally but also in Vietnam. A Vietnamese article from Information and
Communication magazine (2023) showed that using AI can reduce content creation time by 5 to
10 times and channel metrics have an increase of up to 25.68% since adopting AI. From that data,
we can see that AI can create content rapidly but with less time and with higher performance.
Before further analysis, what is AI - generated content (AIGC)? David Gross (2024) stated that AI
- generated content refers to any form of digital material created by artificial intelligence. He also
said that these AI systems, “powered by machine learning and natural language processing”, learn
and analyze vast datasets to imitate humans in general. Therefore, they can be applied to many
fields and aspects such as SEO content, social posts, design, video/ music making process, etc.
These following sections will delve into a few examples of applying AI to create content in Vietnam context.
a. . The controversies of using AI to design advertising poster
According to information from Advertising Vietnam (2024), the boom of ChatGPT has paved the
way for the widespread popularity of AI graphic design tools, attracting thousands of users and of
course, that is also the case in Vietnam.
Pepsi, a famous soft drink brand in Vietnam, had actually utilized AI in their 2024 Tet’s campaign.
Like many other brands, they also had OOH billboards but they used AI to assist in designing their
key visuals as well as collaborated with Zalo to generate AI profile pictures, bringing the campaign
and its message closer to the audience (Brands Vietnam, 2024).
However, not every case can be successful. Tuổi trẻ newspaper (2024) had mentioned about the
case of the movie “Hoa Học Trò” which they used AI generated posters and their audience noticed
some design errors, creating controversies for not being attentive towards their own promoting 6 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
poster. Or the case of University of Architect HCM city who used AI generated poster for one of
their posts while being an art school itself and that raised questions about the school’s ethics.
Therefore, it is safe to say that despite the benefits that AI can bring, there are still controversies
about using AI generated posters when it comes to ethics and quality issues. b. . AI influencer
Research from The Influencer Marketing Factory (2022) showed that 58% of interviewees follow
at least a digital influencer on social media, creating a massive opportunity for this new era of
influencer in creating content. There are agencies in Vietnam that have done this before and one of them is T&A Ogilvy.
In 2020, T&A Ogilvy collaborated with Colory to introduce Toc Tien AI CLear Head for promoting
a campaign of Clear - a hair care brand. By using up to date programs, Toc Tien Clear Head can
be compared as the twin version of the original. The campaign achieved impressive results with
1.1 million interactions, 53% positive discussion rate, forecasted a bright future for virtual
influencers in Vietnam. After that they also introduced E.M ƠI - the first virtual model in Vietnam
and she had appeared in some collections from Vietnam local brands.
The reason why they use AI influencers is because AI influencers are cost - effective compared to
the real one and flexible with changes from the brand.
Vietnamese virtual influencers, despite media presence and their benefits, haven't gained much
traction. In other words, the audience is simply not that interested in them. This might be because
there are too many influencers on the internet with distinctive personalities, so having virtual
influencers with no specific personality seems unnecessary and inauthentic, especially when
people follow influencers that are relatable and can represent their audience. However, with the
growing AI industry, the market potential for AI influencers remains high.
c. . AI - generated SEO content
AI can be a powerful tool when it comes to SEO. They have significant benefits for keyword
research and optimization, two crucial SEO aspects. It quickly scans through large datasets to find
relevant keywords and make sure your material is aimed at a variety of consumers across various
places. It was reported that 65% of businesses reported improving their SEO results with higher
ranking since adopting AI (Loktionova, 2024)
To have further information, we contacted Mr. Nguyen Cao Khanh who has years of experience in
SEO & Branding and is also a founder of a marketing agency in Hanoi.
About the use of AI content for SEO practice, he said “AI can not create new content, it only
synthesizes existing things then gives answers based on that and by doing so, creates more “trash”
on the internet”. Basically, what he wanted to say was that AI needs human’s input onto the internet
to work properly and can not replace humans entirely. 7 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
Because of that mass usage of AI, Google is actually punishing websites that take advantage of AI
entirely for creating more “trash”. These websites’ traffic are declining heavily despite having millions prior.
He also stated that Google is not against using AI to write SEO content, they are just against AI
being the author of the content. By that, he meant:
- AI content must also have humans responsible for reviewing it, only humans can be
responsible for what they publish.
- AI should only contribute to one part of the content production process such as giving
writers suggestions, references, and ideas.
- AI Content can replace humans but it only replaces certain, low-level jobs. If creators want
to not be replaced, they must create better content with more value than what is available on the internet.
From these 3 pressing issues, we can conclude that:
- AI - generated content in Vietnam are now thriving across various fields but there are
controversies and downsides come along if creators do not use it properly
- AI should be used as a tool to create content, not the author. Human should be the final
step in the process to reviewing and publishing
- It is true that AI is thriving but not all AI creation is well - received by the audience
- Creator should focus on creating high valued content if do not want to be replaced
In the foreseeable future, AI - generated content will continue to develop. That is for sure since it
brings countless benefits for businesses in general and content creators in specific. Therefore,
content creators should learn how to effectively utilize those tools and leverage their creative,
brainstorming, writing skills, etc instead of completely relying on AI.
4. SHORT-FORM VIDEO AFFECTS PEOPLE'S PERCEPTION OF INFORMATION 4.1
Introduction and Context of the Issue
This piece is a bit over “4000” words.
And from the start, I assumed you didn't want to read it. Or maybe you want to, but just think that
you will have to read - look through it manually. In most cases, you want to read something shorter
and it would be best if the text magically transforms itself into a video that also plays in your native language.
A recent study by Microsoft found that the average Internet user now has an attention span of just
8 seconds - even shorter than the attention span of a goldfish. But instead of content being produced
to help us increase our focus, most platforms and publications do the opposite, tailoring their
content to suit our inability to concentrate during the day more than 10 seconds. And instead of
tailoring our media to the content, we tailor our content to the media. 8 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
Definition: In general, a short-form video is any video that lasts less than sixty seconds. A
shortform video should ideally be between 30 and 60 seconds long, though the precise duration
will depend on the platform you're using. (Elizabeth Harris, 2024)
You may feel like you've learned a lot from short-form content, but it often provides only
superficial knowledge. Short videos cannot help us understand complex topics in depth. Many
studies show that rapidly interacting with numerous short information streams can reduce our
ability to concentrate (Yi it Bozok, 2022). Furthermore, crucial context is frequently left out ofǧ
short-form content due to its shortened and hurried nature. This omission may result in inaccurate
information, a lack of proof, and the retention of only controversial elements, all of which may
foster misunderstandings and spread quickly, potentially causing harm. One significant drawback
of shorter attention spans is an increased susceptibility to distraction, making it difficult to focus
on tasks and potentially leading to decreased productivity and lowerquality work. According to
neurologist Dr. Sanam Hafeez, the habit of excessive consumption (binge-watching) of short
videos is a “dopamine chase”. Every time we watch a video we like, our brain is "rewarded" with
dopamine, which brings a feeling of excitement. The random reinforcement mechanism increases
addiction: without knowing when the content we like will appear, the more videos we watch, the
more likely we are to repeat dopamine.
4.2 Current situation in Vietnam
95% of Vietnamese users use the internet to watch videos every month. 68% of users watch videos
at least once a day. On average a day, Vietnamese users watch 2.1 times short videos (under 3
minutes), 1.7 times medium videos (from 3 - 10 minutes) and 1.5 times long videos (over 10
minutes) (WARC, n.d). According to a report conducted by TikTok on the shopping behavior of
users in Vietnam during the 2023 Holiday season, up to 69% of users prioritize watching short- 9 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
form videos to learn about products and services. Of these, 84% of users are convinced to buy the
brand's products and services.
Lao Dong Newspaper interviewed 2 readers about the problem of short video addiction: Ngọc
Thảo, a 20-year-old student, confesses to being heavily addicted to short videos, spending up to 18
hours a day on her phone. She initially believed that watching a few seconds of these videos
wouldn't consume much time, but found herself getting engrossed and unable to stop after
watching 2-3 videos. Her favorite content is movie reviews, where she can quickly grasp the plot
without having to watch the entire film. She jumps from one movie summary to another, sometimes
spending an entire night searching for different parts of the same movie to watch. Although she is
aware of the negative effects of staying up late and using her phone, breaking the habit has proven
difficult. She has tried deleting TikTok and Facebook to avoid watching videos but ends up
reinstalling them after a few hours due to the addictive nature of short videos.
Mai Tuấn An, a 25-year-old office worker, faces a similar situation. After long hours of work, he
turns to social media for entertainment. He admits to using short videos to tire his eyes and aid
sleep on nights when he struggles to fall asleep. However, the more he watches, the more awake
he becomes. He switches between platforms, moving from TikTok to Facebook when he gets bored.
In Vietnam, many cases have been punished for spreading false information and cutting context on
TikTok. (Khanh An, 2023. Most recently, the image of Luom, the little boy in a poem composed
by the famous revolutionary poet (To Huu, has been distorted with ridiculous lyrics, but they have
quickly become trendy. (Van Anh, 2023)
The rise of short video content in Vietnam has had a profound influence on people's perception of
information. With a large percentage of internet users regularly consuming videos, particularly
short-form content, it has become a dominant medium for communication and entertainment.
4.3 Opportunities and Threats to Marketers
Short-form video is a double-edged sword for users and especially marketers. They're perfect for
capturing attention with quick, entertaining content on the platforms your audience is already
using. This can lead to increased engagement, viral potential, and reaching target audiences through influencer marketing.
While short video content opens up many opportunities to reach and interact with customers, it
also brings some big challenges for marketers. Difficulty conveying complex messages,
fragmented audience attention, risk of misinformation and brand safety issues, higher marketing
costs, and difficulty measuring effectiveness are the main threats that need to be identified and
addressed. To be successful, marketers need to focus on strategy, make appropriate investments,
continuously innovate, and be able to respond to this rapidly changing short video content
environment. While short videos are trending, marketers need to consider the benefits of longform
videos to convey detailed stories and leverage SEO, despite facing the challenges of limited
attention and content competition. 10 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076
4.4 Forecasts and Recommendations
According to Infinity Business Insights, the global Short-Form Video market size was valued at
USD 1.55 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of
10.5% during the forecast period 2024-2030. Advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and
machine learning will enable more personalized and engaging short-form video experiences,
tailored to individual preferences and behaviors (Zack Bowlby, 2023). The rise of immersive
technologies, such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), will create new
opportunities for interactive and experiential short-form video content.
To win in the short-form video trends, marketers should adopt a comprehensive approach. First,
create captivating narratives that seamlessly integrate your brand message. Second, leverage data
to understand your audience's preferences and tailor your content accordingly. Finally, collaborate
with authentic influencers who resonate with your target market to boost reach and credibility. 11 lOMoAR cPSD| 58886076 REFERENCES
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