"To accomplish this, we need to possess marketing dynamics, be on the alert and be sensitive to the various things valued by our customers, bearing in mind that their values keep changing all the time. [We need to know] what then is the better approach to reach their hearts and minds," says the former president of the Marketing Association of Thailand.

A veteran marketing executive and former chairman of ICI Thailand, Supat, 61, says marketing innovation has become much more important for all businesses because of several factors, one of which is the fact that the traditional advertising media, especially network TV, is now far less cost-effective than in previous times.

"The media environment has become so diverse these days. Now there are literally hundreds of cable TV channels as well as many new media such as the Web. Hence the impact of traditional TV commercial ads, for instance, is no longer as powerful as it used to be.

A decade or two ago, network TV used to account for 70-80 per cent of a major company's advertising and promotional budget.

"Now the ratio is significantly less, maybe just around 50-60 per cent of the total budget. More importantly, the cost-effectiveness of TV media has continually declined. As a result, more and more marketers have turned to innovative event marketing, promotional activities and public relations," he says.

A good example is the recently opened True coffee shop at Piyarom Sport Club on Sukhumvit Road. Operated by True mobile phone company of the Chareon Pokphand group, the posh outlet looks like any new coffee shop around the corner. Once you get inside, the atmosphere is creatively designed and decorated, complete with rows of flat-screen Internet-ready computer terminals for Net-surfing and other digital activities via wi-fi, or wireless, connection.

Just next to the coffee corner stands a sizeable counter offering True telecom and mobile-phone gadgets and services. "The place exemplifies a form of marketing innovation as it targets the young and upper-income groups visiting the sport club or its golf driving range. People come to have a good coffee, surf the Net or chat with friends. They may also do their work here or just relax.

It's a kind of lifestyle marketing that identifies the True brand with the wi-fi generation of Net-surfers or mobile-phone users, young or old.

"By having such a prominent outlet, the brand will benefit from the power of recall of all these prospective customers. It's like a mix of marketing, public relations and the more subtle promotion of True products and services via a coffee shop. The coffee shop itself and the Net service also generate their own income.

The entire display is intended to be a cost-effective way to market and promote the True brand.

"These activities will further compliment commercial ads in the traditional media such as network TV. Now popular coffee outlets such as Starbucks have also become a place for launching books and other products whose customer profiles fit those of the coffee shops.

"Another example is the iTune shops in the US, where customers of the popular iPod music-players come and download their music," says Supat.

Supat also emphasises the rapidly growing importance of so-called customer-relationship management (CRM). "While the basics of CRM are not new, CRM has become more important these days, thanks to the advent of computer software that allows businesses to manage huge databases of minute and very up-to-date profiles of their target customers in an instantaneous manner. I think CRM is critical because marketers now perceive that their customers have a life-long value."

"For instance, Coke once profiled all its target customers, aged from 15 to 35, who consumed its products regularly. The calculation was so specific as to how much each of the customers would be worth annually during a stage of life spanning 20 years."

The logic is that it is cheaper to retain existing customers than find new ones, whose acquisition is estimated to be six to 16 times more expensive than retention.

"This concept of lifelong value of customers also applies to other consumer products or big-ticket items such as homes and cars, since modern consumers will buy three to four homes and many cars during their lifetimes. In other words, marketers need to be innovative in keeping existing customers with them for as long as possible so that they can sell various things during the different stages of their customers' life spans," says Supat.

Nophakhun Limsamarnphun

nop1122@yahoo.com