Comments on: Sweet Thai Lies: Newspaper & Magazine Sales Figures http://absolutelybangkok.com/sweet-thai-lies-newspaper-magazine-sales-figures/ The Portal for the Bangkok Connoisseur - The Elaborate & Profane of Big Mango Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:43:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Tom Aikins http://absolutelybangkok.com/sweet-thai-lies-newspaper-magazine-sales-figures/comment-page-1/#comment-2681 Tom Aikins Tue, 18 Nov 2008 01:01:26 +0000 http://absolutelybangkok.com/?p=2380#comment-2681 If you think that there will ever be any kind of auditing in Thailand you are sadly mistaken. First of all, most of the print advertising that is sold here, and it's a tiny amount compared to TV, is sold by people to their friends,schoolmates, etc. who buy it mostly as a favor. Also, most of it is bought because of kickbacks. There is no expectation of any kind of gain for the advertiser because that's not why they are buying it in the first place. It's an industry that is just as corrupt as any other here. Secondly, the tiny percentage of people who buy the advertising who are actually are buying in a straightforward way have no way of ever measuring the results anyway. Usually the advertising is too vague to do any good or the message is completely wrong for the intended market or one of many other reasons why the ad just won't work anyway. Almost every Thai marketing person I've met over the last 13 years hasn't a clue about what they're doing anyway. They basically know almost nothing about advertising at all. Even if they wanted to make an informed decision, which, as I've stated above they really don't, they would be unable to because they are uneducated and basically ignorant of the basic principles involved in either planning an ad campaign or understanding the basic function of advertising in the first place. Selling advertising here is like talking to learning disabled 10-year olds. I've seen ads produced by agencies here that are so bad they're laughable in terms of their message and intent. I write all this after spending most of the last 13 years selling advertising in Bangkok (and 16 years in the U.S.) and talking to hundreds of people in the industry. The level of knowledge here is so low that it's a wonder that most Thai companies are able to sell anything. Of course, just about every other company is just as incompetent in this area so I guess it all evens out in the end. Put some of these companies into a real marketplace, in a western country for example, and they'd last 10 minutes. And if you look closely at the Bangkok Post's audit, their first one in 12 years, by the way, you'll see that they only sell about 35,000 copies, and even that I find to be very dubious. The other 28,000 copies are mostly sold to hotels or airlines for 5 or 6 baht apiece and then given away to people or put in hotel rooms where there is no indication as to whether people even read it. And why they have the BPA do the audit in the first place is suspect. The ABC should have been hired as they typically do consumer publications and the BPA does trade publications which usually are free. The ABC would never have counted any of the copies that go to the hotels and airlines. And, by the way, if you advertise in the classifieds section of the paper forget about that circulation anyway because the hotel and airline copies don't contain the classified section. As with most things to do with the media here, it's a sham. Although, it's not a very important topic in the long run because print is dying here just like everywhere else in the world. Wait five years and see what things are like. If you think that there will ever be any kind of auditing in Thailand you are sadly mistaken. First of all, most of the print advertising that is sold here, and it’s a tiny amount compared to TV, is sold by people to their friends,schoolmates, etc. who buy it mostly as a favor. Also, most of it is bought because of kickbacks. There is no expectation of any kind of gain for the advertiser because that’s not why they are buying it in the first place. It’s an industry that is just as corrupt as any other here. Secondly, the tiny percentage of people who buy the advertising who are actually are buying in a straightforward way have no way of ever measuring the results anyway. Usually the advertising is too vague to do any good or the message is completely wrong for the intended market or one of many other reasons why the ad just won’t work anyway. Almost every Thai marketing person I’ve met over the last 13 years hasn’t a clue about what they’re doing anyway. They basically know almost nothing about advertising at all. Even if they wanted to make an informed decision, which, as I’ve stated above they really don’t, they would be unable to because they are uneducated and basically ignorant of the basic principles involved in either planning an ad campaign or understanding the basic function of advertising in the first place. Selling advertising here is like talking to learning disabled 10-year olds. I’ve seen ads produced by agencies here that are so bad they’re laughable in terms of their message and intent. I write all this after spending most of the last 13 years selling advertising in Bangkok (and 16 years in the U.S.) and talking to hundreds of people in the industry. The level of knowledge here is so low that it’s a wonder that most Thai companies are able to sell anything. Of course, just about every other company is just as incompetent in this area so I guess it all evens out in the end. Put some of these companies into a real marketplace, in a western country for example, and they’d last 10 minutes. And if you look closely at the Bangkok Post’s audit, their first one in 12 years, by the way, you’ll see that they only sell about 35,000 copies, and even that I find to be very dubious. The other 28,000 copies are mostly sold to hotels or airlines for 5 or 6 baht apiece and then given away to people or put in hotel rooms where there is no indication as to whether people even read it. And why they have the BPA do the audit in the first place is suspect. The ABC should have been hired as they typically do consumer publications and the BPA does trade publications which usually are free. The ABC would never have counted any of the copies that go to the hotels and airlines. And, by the way, if you advertise in the classifieds section of the paper forget about that circulation anyway because the hotel and airline copies don’t contain the classified section. As with most things to do with the media here, it’s a sham. Although, it’s not a very important topic in the long run because print is dying here just like everywhere else in the world. Wait five years and see what things are like.

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]]> By: Andrew http://absolutelybangkok.com/sweet-thai-lies-newspaper-magazine-sales-figures/comment-page-1/#comment-2010 Andrew Tue, 14 Oct 2008 02:06:38 +0000 http://absolutelybangkok.com/?p=2380#comment-2010 I am aware that Logistics Manager magazine is audited by BPA, but that magazine is classed as having a controlled free distribution and is not available through the news trade. I stand corrected and should have written "The are no paid-for magazines AVAILABLE THROUGH THE NEWS TRADE in Thailand with an independent circulation audit." Sorry for any confusion. Another side note to this is The Magazine Association of Thailand (TMAT) apparently wants auditing and has suggested it's the advertising industry that doesn't want it. That's contrary to several conversations I've had with committee members of TMAT. I am aware that Logistics Manager magazine is audited by BPA, but that magazine is classed as having a controlled free distribution and is not available through the news trade. I stand corrected and should have written “The are no paid-for magazines AVAILABLE THROUGH THE NEWS TRADE in Thailand with an independent circulation audit.” Sorry for any confusion.

Another side note to this is The Magazine Association of Thailand (TMAT) apparently wants auditing and has suggested it’s the advertising industry that doesn’t want it. That’s contrary to several conversations I’ve had with committee members of TMAT.

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]]> By: Klong of Consciousness http://absolutelybangkok.com/sweet-thai-lies-newspaper-magazine-sales-figures/comment-page-1/#comment-2004 Klong of Consciousness Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:57:47 +0000 http://absolutelybangkok.com/?p=2380#comment-2004 "Currently there are no paid-for magazines in Thailand with an independent circulation audit." The Thai magazine I used to work for is audited by the BPA, although it may not fall under 'paid-for' since it is free for qualifying subscribers. Admittedly however, this is the exception and not the norm and most Thai magazines are still a long way from even considering auditing. In fact I now have to deal with many Thai publications who don't even use email or the internet. The reason they still get advertising is because they use Thai advertisers who don't have the same expectations that Andrew writes about here. “Currently there are no paid-for magazines in Thailand with an independent circulation audit.”

The Thai magazine I used to work for is audited by the BPA, although it may not fall under ‘paid-for’ since it is free for qualifying subscribers.

Admittedly however, this is the exception and not the norm and most Thai magazines are still a long way from even considering auditing. In fact I now have to deal with many Thai publications who don’t even use email or the internet. The reason they still get advertising is because they use Thai advertisers who don’t have the same expectations that Andrew writes about here.

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