PRINT IN THAILAND: A MEDIA BUYERS VIEW

Media magazine has an interesting story that looks at the role of the print media throughout the region from a media buyers' perspective. Paul Gibbs of the Mindshare agency shared his opinions about the market in Thailand.

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The latest Nielsen figures show that spending in magazines and newspapers in Thailand is down 13 per cent year on year, although broadly readership levels are being maintained. In terms of magazines, international titles that are a blend of local plus international content are doing well however other local titles may be struggling as discretionary spending is coming under pressure in the current economic climate.
People’s appetite for ‘news’ is still there ,especially as it relates to the current political and economic scene so newspapers such as Thai Rath and Daily News will continue to dominate.
There could, however, be a problem with younger audiences for magazines as all of the things of interest to teens in terms of fashion, gadgets and music are readily accessible on the web.
For media buyers, we need to understand the role of print for different advertisers. In some cases print is a ‘nice to have’ channel, and as budgets have tightened during the year these channels can easily fall out of a brands’ communication plan.
In other cases it is still a ‘must have’ channel for categories such as automotive, real estate and luxury goods, although the business performance of all of these categories has come under pressure during 2009.
At the moment print owners’ greatest asset is their content so they need to be looking at moving beyond their existing platforms. Lots of print owners are now developing digital capabilities, while magazines that have historically done co-branded activation and events with advertisers are moving into the more lifestyle and experiential arena.
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There's nothing revolutionary in Paul's comments. He has underlined what I wrote earlier this year about the need to be a 'must-have' publication, both from a readers and advertisers perspective.
I think what he says about web content being easier to access for the younger generation is one that's going to increasingly become a major issue for print publishers no matter what sector they're covering.