Rising rates, beer war spark adspend boom in Thailand

<p>Adspend in Thailand is experiencing strong growth, thanks largely </p><p>to the first rate hikes in two years - and an escalating war between </p><p>beer marketers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As MindShare Thailand general manager Kelly Clarke put it, "Thailand is </p><p>awash in beer and rate hikes". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Beer was the single biggest spending category in 1999 and we have also </p><p>seen a whopping 106 per cent increase for Q1 2000 over the previous </p><p>year," he told MEDIA. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Statistics show that four beers are represented in the top 10 spending </p><p>brands overall (Singha, Chang, Amstel, and Leo), with Mittweida not far </p><p>behind. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But spending is up in most categories as well, Mr Clarke noted. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Most notably, we are seeing strong growth for luxury goods especially </p><p>cars, TV and mobile phones," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But the higher adspend is also a reflection of higher media rates. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Key suppliers are taking an extremely bullish stand on negotiations," </p><p>Mr Clarke explained. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Absolute rates are up for the first time in years, and the heavy bonus </p><p>arrangements, introduced two years ago to encourage client spend, are </p><p>disappearing fast." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>For agencies and clients, however, the biggest disappointment was that </p><p>the economic crunch "didn't quite manage to kill off the TV quota </p><p>system", Mr Clarke said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>With two dominant TV stations and high demand, the quota system is back </p><p>in force again. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"More than ever, it will be important that media buyers have the best </p><p>tools to optimise airtime allocation," Mr Clarke added. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>TV optimisation systems are not new, and most of the big media players </p><p>have one system or another installed. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, these are international systems most often developed originally </p><p>for the UK market, and as a result are sometimes less than ideal for </p><p>application in other markets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And, according to Mr Clarke, few are being utilised properly. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Now that recovery appears well underway, media specialists should be </p><p>investing in the development of better tools and better research," he </p><p>said, noting that MindShare will spend "significantly" in several key </p><p>proprietary projects this year, one of which is to develop a tailor-made </p><p>TV optimisation system for the Thai market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>