Marketers go to the movies in Thailand

<p>BANGKOK: A surge in the popularity of locally-produced films is expected </p><p>to boost ad spending in Thai cinemas by 20 per cent this year to around </p><p>355 million baht (USdollars 7.9 million), according to Prasong </p><p>Rungsmaithong, general manager of Wel Ad, a cinema sales firm. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thai film-making has experienced something of a renaissance in the last </p><p>two years with a string of hits that has drawn new movie-goers, broken </p><p>box-office records and even garnered a warm reception at the Cannes Film </p><p>Festival. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The movie industry five years ago was struggling, and lots of projects </p><p>were brought to the screen that really had no business being there," </p><p>said Roy D. Chapin IV, managing director of MovieSeer, an online movie </p><p>and entertainment portal. "Now the production companies have become more </p><p>selective regarding the projects they take on. As well, more people with </p><p>an advertising background have entered the industry, making the </p><p>marketing more sophisticated than in the past." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Bang Ra Jan, in which 18th-century Thai villagers fend off an invading </p><p>Burmese army, is credited with kick-starting the trend. "People who </p><p>normally don't go the cinema came out to see this one because of the </p><p>popularity of the story," Prasong said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>