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Our study of marketing in Thailand is
concerned with two sections: direct marketing in conventional terms and
Internet marketing, indirect marketing. At
Bangkok Companies our main function is to help other companies in
Thailand and outside Thailand to run successful
direct marketing campaigns.
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For many people the distinction between
marketing and advertising is blurred at best. Totally incomprehensible
at worst. Thai companies and the executives in charge often have little
grasp of even the basic principles of 'getting the message across' and
creating a brand image that will attract and satisfy the needs of their
customers and prospective customers.
Many companies in Thailand, Bangkok
especially, are run by rich Thai or Thai-Chinese families. These
organizations have in the past had little need for a dedicated marketing
policy or marketing department. They depended on brand loyalty and a
lack of competition. Times have changed. My how they have changed. The
market for products and services for the consumer and for commercial and
industrial customers has changed dramatically in the last twenty or so
years that I have been here in Bangkok.
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Major changes in Thailand have firstly
been fueled by an increasingly affluent domestic market. I must quantify
the word affluent as used in the context of Bangkok and Thailand. In the
true sense of the word affluent brings to mind a rich or certainly upper
middle class who can afford the finer things in Life. Expensive cars,
holidays abroad and expensive luxury goods like designer clothes and
high end electronic items. Yes there are consumers out there who fall in
this income bracket, and they are increasing in number. However it is in
the middle and lower income brackets that the most significant changes
have been appearing over the last ten or even twenty years.
Bangkok Companies is primarily a
marketing company. Our original aim was to compile the best database,
and by that I mean usable database of companies in Thailand. The scope
of this company list in the early months narrowed when we realized that
our target market was situated in a small geographical area namely
Bangkok. We were selling training courses to companies in Bangkok mainly
as it was here that our teachers lived and worked amongst the
international schools and Thai universities.
If you require any information on this sector please
email
bangkokcompanies@gmail.com with your requests.
The Marketing Association of
Thailand (MAT) was established in April 1966 by a group of
marketing executives with the advice and assistance from officials of
International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Productivity Centre of
Thailand.
The Marketing Association of Thailand is a professional and non-profit
organization which has its main objectives as follows :
1. Promote and develop professional marketing practices in Thailand.
2. Initiate and encourage training seminars and educational programmes
to bring about a continuing improvement in the understanding and
effective implementation of marketing concepts in business management.
3. Formulate a generally accepted set of marketing ethics to uphold the
high professional standard and ensure that marketing in being used for
the betterment of society, morality and virtues of life.
4. Provide venues and occasions for professional marketers to get
together to exchange ideas, opinions and experiences.
5. Promote marketing as a worthy and honourable profession.
6. Cooperate with other organizations in promoting marketing development
and training.
The Association has 3 categories of membership, i.e. :- 1. Ordinary and
life-time individual membership.
2. Honorary membership.
3. Institutional membership.
The members vote in a President at an Annual General Meeting for a
two-year term. The President will then form his own Executive Committee
to help run the Association. A President can only be elected to his
office for two consecutive terms. The President and his Committee are
supported by staff headed by an Executive Director, who are all hired by
the Association.
The Marketing Association of Thailand conducts, throughout the year,
more than 50 seminars and training programmes both in Thai and English
languages. It also provides in-house training services for interested
companies. The Association occasionally invites international
authorities to lead marketing management seminars in Thailand.
In addition, the Marketing Association of Thailand strongly supports
activities of marketing clubs and association under its umbrella, i.e.,
J-MAT, Y-ME, SEC.
The Junior Marketing Association of Thailand (J-MAT) was established in
1984. This programme enrolls undergraduates in marketing from various
universities throughout Thailand with the aim to equip the students with
the necessary knowledge, experience and skills so that they can become
good marketing professionals in the future. Activities include marketing
debates, marketing quizes, and basic marketing training. The annual
highlight is the Marketing Plan Competition in which thousands of
students join in to present their marketing plans based on a given
product / business set by the Association. The winning team will receive
the prestigious trophy bestowed by Her Royal Highness The Crown Princess
of Thailand. The Executive Board comprises representatives of individual
universities who serve on the Board for one academic year.
The Young Marketing Executive Club (Y-ME) was formed as a sub-group of
the Association in 1988. The aim is to promote fraternity among young
marketing executives, and to develop a new breed of seasoned marketing
executives to carry on the Association’s unending task of promoting a
higher professional marketing standard in Thailand. The Club has its own
Chairman and Committee responsible to conduct its own activities.
The Sales Executive Club (SEC) was founded in 1993 to promote and
develop knowledge and skills for executives responsible for sales
activities in any industry. The Club serves as a centre for exchange of
knowledge, ideas and experience in sales management. It focuses on
developing quality sales management personnel with high ethical
standards and promotes the good image, faith and confidence in sales
professionalism. The Executive Board works for a two-year term.
J-MAT, Y-ME and SEC are instrumental in developing marketing and sales
professionals at all levels in support of MAT. Each club has working
groups from institutions or agencies which meet on a regular basis to
exchange views and conduct activities that benefit the marketing and
sales industry.
The Association maintains a well stocked library for use by its members
and publishes a quarterly “Marketing” magazine in Thai for free
distribution to its members as a means to exchange ideas and to keep
contact.
At the international level, the Marketing Association of Thailand is a
founding member of the Asia Pacific Marketing Federation (APMF), which
serves as a centre for cooperation among the marketing associations
throughout the Asia Pacific region. Major activities of the Federation
are the Certified Professional Marketing (CPM) programme and the annual
Asia-Pacific Marketing Conference. The members of the Federation include
Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysian,
Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of China, Singapore and Thailand. The
Marketing Association of Thailand also works closely with other
international institutions of learning in promoting marketing
development and training throughout the region.
MAT has its office at 1168/21 Floor 14 Lumpini Tower, Rama IV,
Thungmahamek, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120 Thailand Tel. 6602 679-7360 to 3
Fax. 6602 285-5988
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