CP Orange tipped to spend US$20m

BANGKOK: Thailand's mobile phone sector is poised to receive a

massive wake-up call with the imminent launch of CP Orange, which is

believed to be armed with a one billion baht (US$20 million)

marketing budget.

Speculation of its budget size has competitors, chiefly AIS and DTAC,

bracing themselves for what could be the biggest spending spree ever

seen in Thailand. A pre-Christmas launch by CP Orange is highly

anticipated.

"Everything is booked in January - buildings, trains, buses, streets,

tuk-tuks," said one media analyst.

CP Orange is aiming for 90 per cent coverage of its network capacity of

1.1 million by the end of 2002. Its corporate affairs manager, Duke

Theerathada, said: "We will bring the Orange international brand values

in a way that is highly relevant to Thai people. Our look and feel will

be very different from the current advertising by AIS and DTAC. If you

click back and forth between them, there is no difference, except for

the presenter."

Mobile phone firms top Thai adspend categories, with AIS and DTAC

estimated to have spent a total of 1,146 million baht (US$25.5

million) between them for the January to September 2001 period,

according to ACNielsen.

The mobile phone market is expected to reach nearly 30 per cent

penetration by 2005, or have about 18.5 to 20 million subscribers. CP

Orange is aiming to pull in one-third of the total market within five

years. Heavyweight Thai-based Southeast Asian conglomerate, CP Group,

teamed up with Orange, Europe's largest mobile phone firm in September

2000, resulting in a company observers predict will greatly dent the

fortunes of AIS and DTAC.

This fear can be evidenced by the way AIS and DTAC have been trying to

take the wind out of CP Orange's sails by mimicking successful marketing

initiatives the company has undertaken in the past and introducing these

schemes as their own.

Duke said: "We have affected the market even before our entry. AIS and

DTAC are trying to pre-empt Orange, such as by helping dealers decorate

their shops, and introducing drop calls and per second billing."