Ad firm has big plans in aftermath of floods, expects billings to grow 10%
Leading out-of-home media (OHM) agency Kinetic Worldwide (Thailand) has said it expects to |witness a 10-per-cent surge in billings by the end of this year.
Country manager Surachet Bumrongsuk said yesterday that since last year’s severe flooding, many companies had postponed their advertising campaigns. The initial projection of a 20-per-cent increase in this business was slashed to 15 per cent, or Bt8 billion. However, Kinetic is upbeat about the future and expects to see 10-per-cent growth.
Though advertising spending via traditional media such as television, radio, newspapers and magazines suffered a drop during the flood crisis, outdoor, transit and in-store OHM media continued showing positive growth. For instance, in the first 11 months, outdoor media rose 11.36 per cent to Bt3.91 billion, transit media soared 21.43 per cent to Bt2.39 billion and in-store media gained 49.6 per cent to Bt1.5 million.
He added that the OHM business would continue suffering during the first quarter of this year because many businesses will need at least two to three months to recover. Consumers also need to tighten their belts so they can rebuild and repair their damaged property.
However, the agency suggests that this year wrap advertising (covering public vehicles with ads) will play a key role in marketing campaigns and help create brand recognition.
“The landmark media will be placed right in the heart of the city, as street furniture or transit media is used to pump up local mass coverage,” he added.
For instance, last year NatureGift launched its annual campaign under the concept “Thailand’s Happiest Weight Loss Challenge”. The campaign recruited 500 people from across the country to jointly lose 2,554 kilograms in 60 days.
Before this campaign was launched, no more than 20 people visited the NatureGift website. Once the ads started covering up buildings, more than 500 people visited the website weekly. Within three weeks, up to 7,500 people had applied to join the weight-loss campaign, and the number is still soaring.
Apart from a 257-per-cent increase in the number of clicks, the firm has also obtained a huge database of thousands of fans, which will be used for the next marketing campaign.
