As TV advert rates rise, firms move
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Shift of viewers from traditional to new media heralds in new environment
After television broadcasters jacked up their advertising rates by 14 per cent, advertisers and brand/product owners may be unhappy with paying more money for diminished effect as
Viewers migrate from traditional to new media, the Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT) said yesterday.
“Audience fragmentation will become more crucial for advertising agencies this year as a result of the emerging digital and social media, increasing penetration of cable and satellite TV, and an expansion of out-of-home media,” MAAT president Wannee Ruttanaphon said.
Free TV has lost viewers to other platforms such as cable/satellite TV and video on demand via YouTube, she said.
Nielsen Media has found that video-streaming service has increased among online users in Bangkok and other urban areas. Last year, 29 per cent of online users in those areas watched TV and movies online, up from only 16 per cent in 2010.
Currently, there are more than 200 cable and satellite TV channels and more than 300 FM radio stations. Advertisers are able to reach segmented customers via these media channels with more value per cost than with free TV, Wannee said.
Meanwhile, in coming years there will be new 40 digital terrestrial TV channels in the industry.
Wannee, who is also chairwoman of IPG Mediabrands, a leading media agency, said it was estimated that advertising expenditure in the Kingdom would rise by at least 10 per cent to Bt149 billion this year from 2012.
Television will maintain its key role in the industry with more than 50 per cent of total advert spending this year, she said. Adverts via TV will see a 14-per-cent surge to Bt77.9 billion this year from Bt68.1 billion.
Wannee explained that this growth resulted from the rise in advertising rates by free TV broadcasters, namely BEC’s ThaiTV3, the Royal Army’s TV5, BBTV Channel 7, MCOT’s Modernine TV and the Public Relation Department’s Channel 11.
For now, however, advertisers believe that communication via free TV can help them reach a mass audience even though they have to pay more.
INFLATION INDEX
To ensure that advertisers and producers can evaluate the effectiveness of their advert spending, the MAAT yesterday introduced a media inflation index.
Media inflation is calculated by comparing annual price changes for advertising via various media and viewers’ behaviour.
Cost per rating point is the cost of reaching a set amount of audience. If CPRP inflation is higher than the general inflation rate, this means low effectiveness in advert spending, Wannee said.
MAAT committee member Pittayaphan Sriweawnetr said Thai consumers owned an average of 2.5 smart mobile devices last year against 2.1 in 2011. This indicates strong multi-screen behaviour, as 72 per cent of Thai digital consumers engage in multi-media usage, simultaneously watching TV and using the Internet.
