Thai ad body seeking clarification on policy

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