Industry waits to cash in on Thai election fever

Thailand's advertising industry is expecting a major windfall from general elections this November, after heavy spending during the Bangkok governor elections in July. According to figures provided by ACNielsen Adquest to Mindshare, nine candidates spent a total of 122 million baht (US$2.9 million) on media promotion in July. The official legal spending limit was 21 million baht per candidate, but ACNielsen-monitored spend showed much higher levels. TV was the most popular medium (55 per cent), while radio (25 per cent) and print media (14 per cent) were also heavily used. For the first time the Internet proved popular, with the leading home page of top contender Sudarat Keyuraphan registering the highest number of hits at 97,791 visitors. On the national level, Thai political parties have always used mass media for promotion during general elections, and this trend is expected to continue. There has been high media competition in the political game dating back to 1995, when political parties with strong business backing spent heavily to support their candidates, including Palang Dharma Party and the NamThai Party, which spent more than 50 million baht each. Mindshare said adspend by Thai political parties totalled 32 million baht by the end of July. Additional funds will be allocated this month leading up to the general election, especially with the approaching traditional year-end activities and promotions all parties engage in. This has not been lost on TV networks, with Channel 3 boosting rates from October 1 by 15-20 per cent across primetime from 6:30-8:15pm. Further increases are also expected in the 10:30pm variety timeslot.

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