Focus on creative marketing, young consumers to benefit from huge AEC

 The "The Original Thinking Forum", whose central topic was creative marketing in the future Asia, was organised by leading media and marketing service agency Mindshare with the aim of creating inspiration for businesses.

Key thinkers from different business fields were on hand to share their ideas, particularly in regard to preparation for the implementation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in less than three years’ time.

Malee Kittipongsipisal, general manager of Mindshare Thailand, said the size of the market for local enterprises would no longer be just 65 million Thais come 2013, as it would grow to a population of more than 600 million throughout the region.

Given this vastly expanded market, Nuvee Lertbunnapong, head of invention at Mindshare Thailand, suggested that companies, and particularly those related to Thai culture, should turn their focus to their core competency.

"Thailand remains a creative hub of the world because our culture is rich. Therefore we can develop business that is related to traditional Thai culture to serve as value creation for products and services," Nuvee said.

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Nuvee cited the success of Thai restaurants overseas, Thai kick-boxing and many Thai-born forefront fashion designers as good examples of creating additional value from the country’s culture.

Meanwhile, Yuthana Boonorm, managing director of music and entertainment giant GMM Grammy, told the forum that the important thing was to understand young consumers both in Thailand and the region, as the young generation represents any company’s potential future customers.

Youth behaviour is generally the same from country to country, he said, adding, "If we understand them well, we can win their business in the near future once they grow up."

Apart from understanding new-generation consumers, Vachara Vaewuthinand, chief executive officer at JSL Global Media, suggested companies should use well-practiced communication to target groups with a simple message. When it comes to expanding business in the region, Chatchai Payuhanaveechai, executive vice president of Kasikornbank, said Myanmar and Vietnam were the most interesting markets among the key emerging regional ‘CLMV’ economies, which also include Cambodia and Laos.

Myanmar witnessed US$16 billion (Bt490 billion) in foreign direct investment last year, while Vietnam attracted about $11 billion and Thailand saw only $8 billion, he said.

He cited a key aspect of Kasikornbank’s expansion, in which the bank focuses on seeking only the right business partners with the right business model to operate in overseas markets.