Bangkok, Thailand – Advertising investments by marketers in Thailand rose 4% in January to April 2024, compared to the same period a year ago–with 8 out of 10 marketers saying that the increase is due to social media spend, according to the latest data from Nielsen.
This increase of more than 1,255 million baht, period-on-period, echoes a predicted rise in ad budgets, which shows that 82% of the region’s marketers expect bigger ad budgets in 2024 – a significant jump from 56% in 2023.
While a significant decrease in print spend (-33%) and radio (-2) hindered growth numbers for the Thai advertising market, it was buoyed by large gains in cinema advertising (up 35%), online advertising (up 8%) and linear TV, (up 1%), delivering an overall increase of 4%.
Moreover, while digital channels are expected to occupy almost two-thirds of paid marketing spend in APAC this year, the report also showed that much of that spend may be ‘wasted’, with the average ‘off target’ rate for digital ads in Thailand coming in at 44% – much higher than the APAC average of 33%.
Runchita Srivoravilai, vertical lead for agencies and advertisers at Nielsen Thailand, said, “As Thailand’s ad landscape grows more complex by the day, brands, agencies, and media owners need cutting-edge, high-quality commercial intelligence to stand out from the competition and strategically advance their brands and media. Nothing else comes close to Nielsen Ad Intel here.”
Meanwhile, Arnaud Frade, president of commercial for Asia at Nielsen, commented, “These numbers highlight the necessity for marketers to be more strategic in their ad spend, leveraging top-quality data to gain a competitive edge and maximise their ROI. As budgets get tighter, and there’s growing pressure on being seen and heard, marketers in Asia are doubling-down on targeting the right audiences. Multi-screen viewing is already the norm – and streaming channels are only going to grow. The key is leveraging this, which means effective cross-media measurement, which Nielsen is actively working to deliver in key markets across the region.”