The advertising industry may see flat growth in the first half of this year due to lower budget injections by advertisers and the pressure of the economic slowdown on consumers' purchasing power.
Manee Eab, managing director of media agency Magna Global, said there were no clear signs of ad spending improving even though the industry's peak season was approaching.
Normally, advertisers and media agencies are busy planning ad budgets in order to launch new products in the hot season.
"This year, we've seen some advertisers come up with plans to spend more on ads during the hot season. However, their advertising campaigns are not as aggressive as we expect," Ms Manee said.
The economic situation has yet to revive, while the Bank of Thailand's growth projection is 3.8% this year, revised down from 4% earlier.
The economy has been hit by an export downturn, low purchasing power of grass-roots people and mounting household debt.
Moreover, automobile sales in the first two months declined by 11.8% to 123,669 vehicles.
These uncertainties have led to low confidence and cautious spending on advertising among producers and brands.
Low-income and middle-class consumers have weak purchasing power, particularly in rural areas, where agricultural product prices are declining. However, products targeting high-income consumers still see good sales.
Ms Manee said state infrastructure investment was not enough to shore up the economy.
Early this year, the Media Association of Thailand predicted ad industry growth of 4-5% in 2015, driven by government investment in megaprojects.
However, research company Nielsen Thailand Co reported ad spending grew by 21% to 20 billion baht in the first two months of this year.
The sharp growth was contributed mostly by fast-moving consumer goods and mobile services such as Unilever Thailand, Procter & Gamble, Toyota and Advanced Info Service and True Move.
Major media categories such as magazines and newspapers faced a decline, while transit media and the internet saw double-digit growth.
Brand Connections managing director Itchaya Santitrakoon said media agencies were disappointed with the less-aggressive ad campaigns, as sentiment had been hurt by the lacklustre economy and political uncertainty.