Vietnam Cost, Global Quality: The Arbitrage Play for Creative Services

There's a pricing arbitrage in creative services that most global brands haven't figured out yet.

A senior motion designer in the US costs $8,000-12,000/month. In Vietnam, the same skill level costs $1,500-3,000. The quality gap that existed 5 years ago has largely closed, thanks to global education, online portfolios, and tools that democratize production.

Fomalia's model exploits this directly. We charge $2,000-5,000/month for managed AI marketing operations that would cost $8,000-15,000 from a US provider. Not because we cut corners, but because our cost base is fundamentally different.

The math for a US client:

• US agency: $10,000/month, 3-person team, 40 posts/month
• Fomalia: $3,000/month, AI-augmented, 30 posts + 4 videos + campaign planning

The key insight: it's not just about cheaper labor. It's about combining Vietnam's cost advantage with AI augmentation. One person + AI agents in Vietnam outperforms a team of three in the US, at a third of the cost.

This arbitrage won't last forever. But right now, it's real, and brands that figure it out have a significant advantage.