Chuo Senko (Thailand), a leading advertising agency, says its outlook in Southeast Asia is bright thanks to rising demand from Japanese investors keen on opportunities arising from the Asean Economic Community.
‘We believe the ad industry in Thailand still has a bright future,’ says Mr Okawa.
"Japanese investors are still confident and tend to invest more in Thailand. The country is an investment hub for Asean and there will be infrastructure megaprojects in the future," said Shuji Okawa, the president and chief executive of Chuo Senko (Thailand).
Chuo Senko (Thailand) has been operating here for 50 years.
The Japan-based ad company wants to be a "glocal" agency and maintain its market leadership by providing full service to clients.
Glocal means Chuo Senko is a global agency that acts locally in other countries. At the moment, it does not provide advertising services in Japan any more.
The agency established four new subsidiaries here: Digital DNA for online marketing; RDSS, which provides shop decoration service and involves point-of-purchase; Ad Asia, which handles some clients to avoid conflicts with major accounts at Chuo Senko; and Tangram Associations, which offers business consultancy for the Asean market.
Chuo Senko has also been cooperating with Daiko, Japan's fourth-largest advertising agency, to develop new business solutions for Japanese clients in Asean.
Mr Okawa said it will focus on developing new technologies to respond to the rapid growth of digital media.
It expects clients will continue to increase their ad budgets. Chuo Senko operates in seven countries comprising Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Myanmar and India.
About 80% of its clients are Japanese firms operating in Thailand, including automobiles, motorcycle, food and financial companies, while 20% are local firms. It aims to expand its client base to government agencies and private companies.
Chuo Senko Thailand saw a slowdown in ad spending in the first half, but kept its full-year growth projection of 10%.
The Thai office will serve as a model for the firm's overseas expansion. About half its revenue will come from Thailand.
"We believe the ad industry in Thailand still has a bright future and can grow to meet our revenue target," said Mr Okawa.
