Thailand should brand itself by integrating campaigns initiated by its various ministries and agencies and sending a clear message to the world, says WPP, the world's largest advertising group.
Sorrell: State, firms need same message
"The Thailand brand is really strong. But tourism and foreign investment promotion campaigns as well as city and country campaigns are too fragmented to boost the nation's reputation effectively," chief executive Martin Sorrell said during a visit to Bangkok this week.
He said Thailand in fact has many economic strengths to show the world, especially after the heavy flooding late last year. The country did very well to recover from the crisis within such a short period of time. If the Thai government were to put its efforts into a serious campaign integration, then it could easily restore confidence among foreign investors.
"Besides, the government and the private sector must convey the same message to convince foreign investors," said Mr Sorrell.
He also presented his ideas to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in late January.
Mr Sorrell believes Thailand _ or at least Bangkok _ has the potential to be a regional hub but cannot achieve that status due to heavy competition from other Asian cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing.
China has done a good job of developing its brand, especially during the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, he said. During the Olympics' opening and closing ceremonies, the shows and performances impressed audiences the world over.
"I think China knows how to use such events to fashion people's attitudes," said Mr Sorrell.
He also shared his view that the global ad industry this year will be driven by new media, new markets and especially demand for insightful consumer information.
Two big sporting events _ the Euro 2012 football tournament and the London Olympics _ and the US presidential election will boost advertising demand worldwide by 1%.
However, four major concerns threatening the global economy are the Middle East situation, the hard or soft landing of the Chinese economy, the euro-zone debt crisis and the US deficit.
"For me, the Iranian nuclear crisis is the biggest risk. It's difficult to imagine its consequences and make an emergency plan for that," said Mr Sorrell.
He said Thailand's ad industry has many opportunities for digital media use because the country hopes to soon roll out third-generation (3G) service.
In addition, there are 12 million Facebook users and 4 million smartphones in the country, while the One Tablet per Child scheme is just getting underway.
While the worldwide ad industry saw 28% of media spending used on digital last year, Nielsen Research said Thailand's proportion remained very low at only 2% of total ad spending of 105 billion baht.
WPP (Thailand) expects local revenue growth of 5% this year from US$130 million last year.
The parent company achieved global revenue of $16 billion last year.