Branding is way forward for agencies

Advertising agencies should focus on branding and the purpose of advertisements to avoid a price war and declining rankings in the global arena.

"We found the Thai ad industry is getting lost in involving brands to achieve their goals," said On-Usa Lumliangpol, president of the Advertising Association of Thailand.

She said agencies rely mostly on trends, particularly drama and social responsibility themes, but story-telling adverts are often not involved in the brands they are trying to sell and fail to get the brand's message across to consumers.

At the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June, Thai agencies received fewer awards than last year. One reason was they had less of a Thai identity and limited effectiveness.

Ms On-Usa said the industry's new frontier is the rapid change in social and economic situations, new consumer segments with certain characteristics and new communications channels as a result of constant development and communications technology. 

Today, the world's marketing communications extend beyond advertising. Consumer lifestyles are being shaped by the changing pace of technology, which has greatly affected brand positioning, image and sales volume.

Advertising people and marketers must look at the situation with a new perspective to keep abreast of rapid changing consumer behaviour. Importantly, creative ideas need to be powerful enough to change consumer behaviour.

The Thai sector has faced problems of economic slowdown and high competition that have led to price wars. The only way to survive is by branding and adding more value to products.

With the digital era, brands should use data to find a new direction. Branding under the previous definition may have meant awareness but it now means engagement.

"Creative adaptation and modern marketing communications strategy are the keys to win in the new business frontier," said Weerachon Weeraworawit, chairman of the judging panel for the Adman Awards and Symposium 2014.

Additionally, new segments, new consumers and new areas of business are also key factors to sustain the business.

The annual Adman Awards and Symposium will be held on Sept 17 at Convention Center Hall, Centara Grand, at CentralWorld in Bangkok.