Thai ad body seeking clarification on policy

BANGKOK: Thailand's Advertising Association has asked the Government to clarify a directive which foreign agencies believe will restrict their business development attempts in the market. The issue stems from an offcial April memo from Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's office instructing state enterprises to hire Thai consultants instead of foreign firms as part of a cost-cutting drive. That same month, the Tourism Authority of Thailand switched its domestic account from Leo Burnett to Creative Juice (media, May 11), a small local agency. Also in April, the Board of Investment postponed signing a deal with Ogilvy & Mather for PR services. Parames Pachjaibun, president of Thailand's Advertising Association and co-chairman of Dentsu Young and Rubicam, has asked for a clarification of the term "foreign consultant". Parames believes the term does not accurately describe the advertising industry: "We are not consultants. Ad agencies are registered with the Government as providing services, mainly the buying and selling of media." While no response had been received at media's press time, Parames noted that the Secretariat of the Prime Minister's office had informally stated that the Government was only suggesting that Thai consultancies be given equal opportunity to bid for government contracts. Multinational agencies had earlier expressed concern at the directive's implications. Of the 15 leading agencies operating in Thailand, only two are local. One of the two, SC Matchbox, is partly owned by the Shinawatra family - a situation with implications not lost on more cynical observers. Nevertheless, there is a feeling that the issue could soon be resolved. Leo Burnett Asia regional managing director, Richard Pinder, said he is giving the Thai Government the benefit of the doubt. He said his agency never associated the loss of the domestic Thai tourism account with the directive. "Of course, there was a degree of concern that there may have been a connection, but our take on the account change is that it's now water under the bridge and instead we're looking to the future," he said. Burnett's still holds the tourism authority's international account. The issue seems to be cooling down, but the thought of a possible bias against multinationals has rankled the industry. "The image of the greedy foreign agency repatriating its profits back home is fallacious," Pinder argued. "This year, Burnett is investing more capital in Thailand than it will take out. There is a net inflow of capital into Thailand." And the idea of Thai or non-Thai agencies is false, he added, pointing out that all senior management, bar one, at Burnett's Bangkok office are Thais. According to the Bangkok Post, only 30 of the industry's 2,200 employees are foreigners.

Sign In

Trouble signing in?

Reset Password: Click here

Contact Customer Support at

Customerservice@campaignasia.com