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.
