In celebration of World PR Day 2025, EloQ Communications is pleased to reshare this article as a way to promote a spirit of learning and passion for the profession, particularly from the next generation, where fresh perspectives meet real-world experiences in a practice-oriented academic environment. The following piece presents a student’s perspective from the class of Dr. Clāra Ly-Le, Managing Director of EloQ Communications and university lecturer.

Recently, across major streets in Ho Chi Minh City, a series of mysteriously “glitched” out-of-home (OOH) billboards have caught the attention and stirred up conversations among passersby. From cryptic phrases like “Ê Á,” dimly lit letters forming “ĐỀ KH,” to the barely hanging “ÁNG,” these visual oddities resembled technical malfunctions. However, this was in fact a well-calculated communication strategy by the colostrum milk brand Varna Colostrum. So, how did Varna Colostrum encode their message? How did they creatively blend classic messaging strategies to turn a bold OOH idea into a compelling communications case study? This article will explore the strategic thinking behind Varna’s campaign, beginning with foundational knowledge on messaging strategies in brand communication.

1. What is a Communication Message?

From an academic perspective, a communication message refers to the process of sharing information, concepts and meanings related to products, services and the business itself, occurring between the sender (the business) and the receiver (the target audience and relevant publics).

Essentially, a message comprises the language, symbols and signals that a business uses to interact with consumers. These messages can be encoded and conveyed through various formats, including text, images, sound and video, with the aim of influencing perception, emotion and behavior (Minnesota University, 2015).

2. Types of Messaging Strategies

Functional Strategy

A functional messaging strategy focuses on offering rational and tangible solutions to current or potential consumer problems. At its core, this approach communicates that the brand possesses specific benefits and product-related attributes that can effectively address those issues. Messages following this strategy often emphasize aspects such as performance, durability, cost-efficiency, safety or time-saving capabilities (EMB Global, 2024).

Volvo is a classic and highly successful example of a brand that has consistently deployed a functional messaging strategy. From the outset, Volvo identified its core values as safety, quality and environmental care. Among these, “safety” was elevated into its primary competitive advantage and has remained the foundation of all brand communications globally, a clear and powerful functional commitment (Karabiyik, 2022).

Symbolic Strategy

In contrast to the functional approach, a symbolic messaging strategy does not focus on what the product does, but rather on what the product represents. It aims to associate the use and ownership of the brand with a desirable group, role or self-image. Symbolic messaging does not address practical problems but instead fulfills abstract psychological and social needs, such as self-enhancement, group belonging, status expression and the affirmation of personal values. In this strategy, the physical product becomes a vehicle or symbol through which consumers build and express their identities (Bishop, 2000).

Nike is a master of symbolic messaging, having built a global brand empire by doing so. Before 1988, Nike was simply a sportswear company. But the launch of the “Just Do It” campaign transformed it into a brand that sold a mindset. The core message centered on empowerment, captured in the declaration that “everyone is an athlete” (Lau, 2025).

Experiential Strategy

The experiential messaging strategy shifts focus from product attributes or symbolic meanings to the experience of consumption itself. It seeks to evoke consumer needs for sensory pleasure, variety and cognitive stimulation. Rather than merely describing the product, it conveys what it feels like to use the product  aiming to create memorable, sharable moments (Orth & de Marchi, 2007).

Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign is a prime example of successful experiential messaging on a global scale. In the early 2010s, Coca-Cola faced two major challenges: declining sales and growing perception of the brand as outdated and disconnected from teenagers. They needed a breakthrough idea to reconnect with youth in a more meaningful and personal way (Mendoza, 2015).

3. Choosing and Integrating Messaging Strategies in Product Communication

The selection of a messaging strategy is not arbitrary; it must be grounded in strategic analysis of both internal and external factors (Orth & de Marchi, 2007):

• Product Type and Level of Consumer Involvement: The nature of the product plays a decisive role. High-involvement products those with technical complexity, high value, or requiring detailed consumer consideration (e.g., automobiles, industrial equipment, financial services)  are more suited to functional strategies. In these cases, consumers seek logical information and credible evidence to support decision-making. On the other hand, low-involvement consumer goods like snacks or beverages can benefit more from emotional messaging (symbolic or experiential) to drive impulse purchases. Luxury goods, fashion and cosmetics, often associated with self-expression, are naturally aligned with symbolic strategies.
  Target Audience: This is a critical factor. A messaging strategy only succeeds when it resonates with its intended audience. Brands must deeply understand their customers’ demographics (age, gender, income), psychographics (values, lifestyle, aspirations), behaviors (buying habits, purchase readiness) and media preferences. A cost-effectiveness message may appeal to one segment, while a symbolic message about social status may resonate with another. Building detailed customer personas helps tailor messaging to specific segments effectively.
• Product Life Cycle Stage: The phase of the product in its life cycle also influences message strategy. During the introduction stage, the focus is on raising awareness and encouraging trials. Thus, informative messages highlighting functional benefits are often prioritized. As the product enters growth and maturity stages and competition intensifies, symbolic and experiential strategies become more crucial for differentiation, brand image enhancement and customer loyalty building.

4. Lessons from Varna Colostrum’s “IMMUNITY” OOH Campaign

Varna Colostrum’s recent out-of-home campaign is a prime example of a multi-layered messaging strategy executed seamlessly to create powerful and far-reaching impact. Instead of following conventional health product advertising paths, the brand adopted a bold and creative approach, integrating both experiential and functional strategies.

Strategic Foundation: A Blend of Experience and Function

At its core, Varna Colostrum addresses a clear and tangible consumer need, boosting immune health. This is a classic case of a functional benefit, providing a logical solution to a real health concern. The final campaign tagline, “Take Varna Colostrum daily to support your immune system,” serves as a straightforward, functional call to action.

However, the brilliance of the campaign lies in how Varna chose not to communicate this message directly. Instead, the brand used experiential strategy as the main communication vehicle to capture attention and embed the message in consumers’ minds.

• Creating a Curiosity-Driven Experience: By intentionally designing billboards to appear “broken,” Varna transformed a static medium (OOH) into an interactive public experience. Incomplete billboards with flickering “Ê Á,” barely lit “ĐỀ KH,” or falling “ÁNG” disrupted viewer expectations, piqued curiosity, and compelled people to ask, “Is this a technical glitch or something more?”

• Stimulating Cognitive and Emotional Response: The campaign created an “aha moment” for the viewer. Once decoded, the message “Thought the billboard was broken, but it’s your immunity that really needs fixing” connected a visual experience to a personal health realization. This cognitive-emotional connection delivered a far greater impact than a direct health claim.

Message Evaluation Using Key Effectiveness Attributes

Varna Colostrum’s campaign demonstrated excellence in the key characteristics of effective messaging:

• Engaging and Memorable: This was the campaign’s strongest suit. In a cluttered advertising environment, the use of intentionally flawed visuals was a clever way to grab attention and leave a lasting impression.
• Distinctive and Unique: The campaign stood out starkly from other health-related ads. Rather than showcasing energetic, healthy individuals, it metaphorically illustrated “low immunity” using abstract and unexpected visuals.
• Relevant and Relatable: Though initially cryptic, the message became highly relevant upon decoding. It struck at the audience’s pain points,  a common neglect of immune health until physical discomfort surfaces. Metaphors like “Ê Á” (aches), “ĐỀ KH” (sluggish), and the falling “ÁNG” (deterioration) visually and emotionally resonated with the target audience.
• Persuasive and Motivating: The power of the message stemmed from letting consumers arrive at the insight themselves. Rather than being told, they felt as though they had uncovered a truth,  generating a stronger intrinsic motivation to consider the product as a solution.

Leveraging Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC)

This campaign is a compelling case of integrated marketing communication in the digital age, where traditional and digital channels amplify each other’s effects:

• From OOH to Social Media: The billboards acted as initial triggers, real-life curiosities sparking online conversations.
• Encouraging User-Generated Content (UGC): The mystery and uniqueness of the visuals led bystanders to take photos, share online, and speculate, resulting in natural virality. Posts like “Saw the weirdest OOH today, no one would believe this unless I showed you!!!” show how the campaign transformed viewers into active participants and message amplifiers.
• Controlling the Narrative: Once curiosity reached its peak, Varna emerged to “decode” the story, linking fragmented impressions into a coherent brand narrative and delivering a clear call to action. This ensured message clarity and consistency.

Conclusion

Varna Colostrum’s “IMMUNITY” messaging strategy exemplifies how a brand can go beyond selling a functional product to delivering a transformative experience. By using an experiential creative execution to communicate a functional benefit, the brand succeeded in crafting a message that was attention-grabbing, memorable and highly persuasive. This campaign is a remarkable demonstration of how innovative thinking and emotional intelligence can elevate a brand to top-of-mind status through smart, emotionally resonant storytelling.

5. Discussion Questions

1. How can brands effectively integrate all three messaging strategies functional, symbolic and experiential  into a high-impact campaign in the digital era?
2. For curiosity-driven campaigns, how can brands balance initial attention-grabbing tactics with delivering a clear core message to build sustainable top-of-mind awareness?

REFERENCES

• Bishop, J. D. (2000). Is self-identity image advertising ethical? Business Ethics Quarterly, 10(2), 371–398.
• Minnesota University. (2015). Principles of marketing. Minnesota University Library Publishing.
• EMB Global. (2024). Functional advertising: How it works and its advantages. EMB Global Blog. https://blog.emb.global/functional-advertising-explained/
• Karabiyik, H. C. (2022). Communicating images: A discussion on the positioning strategy of Volvo cars and the model SS recommendation. In P. Yildiz (Ed.), Cases on marketing theories and applications (pp. 303–319). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-3430-7.ch016
• Lau, S. (2025). The genius behind Nike’s brand strategy: Just do it, done right. NewswireJet. https://newswirejet.com/nike-brand-strategy/
• Mendoza, L. (2015). US Coca-Cola: Persuading teens to ‘Share a Coke’. Warc.
• Orth, U., & de Marchi, R. (2007). Understanding the relationships between functional, symbolic, and experiential brand beliefs, product experiential attributes, and product schema: Advertising-trial interactions revisited. The Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 15(3), 219–233. https://doi.org/10.2753/MTP1069-6679150303

Source: Brands Vietnam