BRANDING AT THE COUNTER

Very few magazines take part in any kind of in-store branding in bookshops in Thailand.

One of the reasons is cost; this particular display for Newsweek in one central Bangkok store will probably have cost more than the likely revenue from any increased sales. And for Newsweek, with its timely weekly coverage, is it really good to have magazines that are up to two months old on sale?

Amarin, which publishes a range of magazines including the Thai language licensed editions of InStyle and National Geographic, does an excellent job of promoting its own titles through its company-owned Nai-in bookshop chain. The publishers of the Thai language edition of Hello! also seem to spend decent amounts of money promoting the brand at the counter.

But that's about all.