Digital advertising in the country this year should reach 124 billion baht, marking growth of 4.8%, thanks to consumer sentiment rebounding, the upcoming general election, government stimulus and fast online media growth, says a marketing and media network.
The digital channel will have growth of 20% and is expected to nearly equal the value of TV advertising within 3-5 years, said Pathamawan Sathaporn, managing director of Mindshare, a marketing and media network under media investment company GroupM.
The internet is a key driver of digital advertising in Thailand, accounting for 14.5% of the total 124-billion-baht ad market, she said.
Thailand is the leader in digital advertising in Southeast Asia, outpacing Indonesia and Philippines, but there's still room for growth compared with developed countries, where the share of digital exceeds 40%, Mindshare said.
"Driving the digital share to 40% takes at least three years, bringing the reach close to that of TV, as digital is useful for reaching people in Bangkok, even though TV still reaches the masses, while digital requires 5G network and more affordable internet prices to grow," Ms Pathamawan said.
In 2019, TV will continue to dominate the market, expected to be worth 72.9 billion baht, or 58.7% of the total market.
Of total TV, the share of digital TV will rises to 33.5 billion baht from 29 billion last year, analogue TV will decline to 37.5 billion baht, and cable/satellite will fall to 1.9 billion.
Spending on radio is expected at 4.8 billion baht, newspapers 5.2 billion, magazines 1 billion, cinemas 7.3 billion, outdoor 7.5 billion, transit 6.3 billion, in-store 1 billion and internet 18 billion baht.
The upcoming election will boost media spending in the public sector, mostly in outdoor media, from 6.8 billion baht in 2018 to 7.5 billion this year.
According to Mindshare, the top 10 advertising sectors remain the same as in 2018: media and marketing, motor vehicles, non-alcoholic drinks, communications, skincare and preparation, government, leisure, dairy products, pharmaceuticals, and retail.
Key advertisers in 2019 are Unilever, Lifestar, P&G, Toyota, Coca-Cola, AIS, Isuzu, L'Oreal and Nestle.
There are five key trends for 2019, one of which is streaming content, Ms Pathamawan said, adding that Facebook Live and other streaming content providers will become a new method for marketers.
Social networks are going to reach critical mass, outrunning traditional media with Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Line altogether making up one-third of digital advertising.
Marketers need to use advertising running sales conversion to induce customer purchases and focus on new technologies to get closer to consumers, particularly voice digital assistants and artificial intelligence.
Marketing should use quality and interesting content in appropriate volume and at the right times to appeal to users, especially those who avoid ads.
In 2018, ad spending in Thailand was 118.4 billion baht, up 5.7% from 2017.