Thailand Needs Single Message, Long-Term Brand Vision: WPP

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WPP

Kingdom needs single message, long-term brand vision: WPP

Watchiranont Thongtep

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The head of WPP, the world's largest advertising and marketing services group, has suggested Thailand needs a clear, single message through integration of the country's branding, and that the government should use world events to showcase the Kingdom.

This could restore the confidence of foreign investors and tourists amid intensifying competition in the region and global economic uncertainty, said Sir Martin Sorrel, WPP's founder and chief executive officer.

Sorrel, who is on a tour of six Asian cities, including Bangkok, said yesterday that even though the Thai economy remained strong, in the long run the country needed to ensure that things were run in an appropriate way to guarantee sustained growth, such as having a vision for single-brand creation.

There are currently many ministries involved in promoting the country in different ways, he said, but there needed to be a much more unified effort.

Examples of major marketing campaigns run by key government bodies include efforts by the Tourism and Sport Ministry and Tourism Authority of Thailand, which are responsible for tourism development and promotion under "Amazing Thailand", while the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau is focusing on its tagline of "Believe in Thailand" to lure business travellers, besides offering financial support for overseas organisers wanting to hold conferences, exhibitions and shows in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the Board of Investment, under the Industry Ministry, is working on the promotion of foreign direct investment with its "Think Investment, Think Thailand" campaign. The agency also recently launched the "Unbeatable Thailand" campaign, aimed at restoring investor confidence during the prime minister's trip to Japan.

With these examples in mind, Sorrel said: "This is too much fragmentation of the national branding process, so Thailand should create a single message to reflect a long-term vision for the country, with each ministry then following that track."

He also cited the example of China when it wanted to re-image the country as a leading world economic power. It used world events, namely the 2008 Olympics Games in Beijing and the World Exposition 2010 in Shanghai, to show its readiness on the global stage.

Singapore is another example, he said, as it offers a highly educated population and tax incentives for companies wishing to set up global offices there. This enables the island-state to retain its brand position as a regional commercial hub.

Speaking as a non-executive director of Alpha Topco, the owner of Formula One, Sorrel added that the Grand Prix circuit hosted world-class events that were on the global calendar and attracted many tourists and related businesses. "It should be really good news that the Tourism and Sports Ministry is keen on bidding to join this world-class car racing," he said.

Moreover, many interesting challenges lie ahead in the near future now that there are signs of recovery in the global economy. For example, global business momentum will be positive thanks to major upcoming events this year, namely the Olympic Games in London, the Fifa Euro soccer championship in Poland and Ukraine, and the US presidential election.

He said these events could boost Thai and global advertising expenditure by as much as 1 per cent this year.

However, the chief executive is concerned that US deficit problems could lead to a world economic slowdown next year, even though Barack Obama is likely retain his presidency in the coming US election.

For Thailand, Sorrel said WPP business, including JWT, Ogilvy Group, Y&R, Mindshare, Burson-Marsteller, Hill+Knowton Strategies and Verve, last year recorded 5-per-cent growth, achieving revenue of US$130 million (Bt4 billion).

Through key strategies that focus on new markets, new media and consumer insight, the WPP group in Thailand conservatively expects to see 4-per-cent growth this year, he added.

The group has 1,700 employees in the Kingdom.

-- The Nation 2012-03-14

[canardo]

Free PR for WPP?

[Thai at Heart]

Get past coups, civil insurrection, floods and the rest, you probably could sell it......

[seaeagle]

Don't forget the other tag-line, "Miracle Thailand"!

[BigJohnnyBKK]

Hilarious, this guy's hit the nail on the head with the Thais. "Branding" a country, what piffle.

Thailand's reputation overseas is already completely obvious, and no amount of paid marketing efforts will change it. People come here as tourists and invest here **in spite** of that reputation, not because of it. Spin doctors like this can get a nice chunk of Thai money by pandering to their obsession with surface appearances, but that reputation will only change when the reality starts to, and even if all of its fundamental problems were solved overnight, the reputation would still take IMO decades to turn around.

Would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath.