BrandBaker riding mobile Internet trend

Surasak Lhueng-u-sakul, strategic planning director at BrandBaker, said yesterday that advertisers continued to use digital media for content marketing.
“We expect to see at least a 40-to-50-per-cent increase in [overall] advertising expenditure this year, compared with last year’s Bt5.86 billion,” he said.
Based on that increase, the agency aims to see its own revenue surge by as much as 40 per cent to between Bt60 million and Bt70 million, from Bt50 million last year.
Surasak said the key contribution would be from new assignments by existing clients, while this year the firm was also focusing more on pursuing new clients such as automakers.
Despite facing a business slowdown in the automotive business due to the high level of household debts, he believes that content marketing via digital and social media will be the right answer for carmakers.
Currently, BrandBaker helps about 50 clients such the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Vichy, L’Oreal, Santorini Water Fantasy, DTAC and AP with their digital media strategies to engage with targeted audiences. In the content marketing department, 10 staff members take care of about 30 websites for clients.
Surasak said that with digital media, brands were able to communicate and engage with people to convert their interests in products and services into purchases.
He said consumer behaviour was changing into a pattern known as “ROPO” – research online, purchase offline.
He said the increase of mobile Internet users in the Kingdom was a key reason for this. Apart from chatting and sharing their experiences with friends and family via social media such as Line, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, consumers use such media channels and Web boards or community sites to research and read product reviews and comments before making a purchase.
According to marketing research firm TNS, Thai consumers spend about three hours a day on online devices while smartphone penetration in the Kingdom has reached 80 per cent of total mobile subscribers.