HANOI, VIETNAM — How can a start-up disrupt a market when 90% of it is owned by multinationals? In Vietnam, e-bike brand Dat Bike accomplished that by embracing its small business identity. In a campaign by creative agency Happiness Saigon, the brand turned its e-bikes into mobile emergency generators, helping other small businesses survive the country’s common blackouts.
In Vietnam, the motorbike market is dominated by multinationals. For an e-bike brand like Dat Bike, it’s hard to disrupt the market on a start-up budget, even with an e-bike battery that is twice as powerful as the competition and bi-directional. What if the brand actually leaned into its identity as a small business to promote the superiority of the product?
Blackouts in Vietnam have risen 300%. This is especially a problem for the country’s many small business owners, resulting in a serious loss of revenue.
In the latest campaign by Happiness Saigon, Dat Bike’s e-bikes were turned into emergency power generators, helping small business owners survive during these blackouts. A hotline service was launched to connect the owners with a local Dat Biker and their fully charged e-bike.
A full charge of the Dat Bike can power the lights and two freezers of a small convenience store for three to four hours. Thanks to this initiative, over 200 small businesses were powered in the first week only. The brand also saw a 300% increase in orders.
“We are long past the point where electric vehicles are subpar to combustion vehicles. Unfortunately, the perception remains somewhat different in Vietnam. With Re:Charge, we turned our biggest weakness into a huge strength,” said Jazz Tonna, Partner and Creative Director at Happiness Saigon.
With this campaign, Dat Bike shows it is not only made in Vietnam but also made for Vietnam. With $0 of PR or media investment, the e-bike brand earned a 57% share of the conversation — not bad for a start-up competing with multinationals.
