You and other football-crazy viewers will have to look at the red TCL symbol for another two weeks until the world's most-watched sports competition ends with the final in the early hours of July 10.

The tournament in Germany is part of the brand-promotion strategy of China's giant consumer electronics and IT manufacturer TCL, which is now cashing in on the world's most popular game to enhance its brand awareness in Thailand.

It allocated Bt100 million, which is half of its total budget this year, to become an official sponsor of DhosPaak, the Thai broadcasting agency for the World Cup, in order to win this huge brand-building opportunity.

As well as money, it also provides electronic and IT facilities, including computers, for the DhosPaak broadcasting centre.

Being an official sponsor is its core strategy to exploit the world's most popular sporting events as opportunities to build wide awareness, with the ultimate goal of gaining trustworthiness from Thai consumers for its international-standard quality and designs.

TCL has even signed a four-year contract with DhosPaak taking in other world-renowned sporting events, including the European Football Championships and the Asian Games.

Its Bt100-million budget might seem small compared with the other five major players in the consumer electronics and IT market from Japan and South Korea, but it is a considerable sum for a newcomer to the Thai market.

TCL penetrated Thailand last November using cathode-ray-tube (CRT) TV products, followed by air-conditioners and IT products, including laptops and MP3s, early this year.

LCD TVs and some household consumer items were later put on the Thai market, and TCL is working to market its mobile phones and other consumer electronic products such as microwaves, washing machines, irons, lighting fixtures and ice-makers.

It has three main Thai branches - in Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Nakhon Si Thammarat - more than 100 staff, and a plant producing CRT TVs and LCD TVs. It plans to open at least five more branches soon.

So far, it has been building brand awareness at a local level and has also made its products available in some shopping malls, but it still does not have a widespread reputation in the Kingdom.

Being a Chinese brand is a problem because many Chinese products have entered Thailand during the past few years featuring copied products with unreliable quality and extremely cheap prices targeting low-income people.

"People still perceive our brand from the negative side of being Chinese, which is a big limitation for us. Therefore, we have been working hard to create a positive perception towards our brand based on high product quality," said Metha Rojanachaichanint, marketing manager of TCL in Thailand.

Being an official sponsor of DhosPaak should at least lead to a better perception of TCL as a company that is reliable enough for DhosPaak to do business with during the broadcasting of various world-renowned sporting events.

Price-setting is another limitation for TCL. Anson Zeng, managing director of TCL Electronics (Thailand) Co Ltd - a subsidiary of TCL Corp in China - said the company could not set the same price levels as other top consumer electronics brands such as Samsung, Sony or LG.

As a new player in the Thai market, high prices would drive customers away, even though its manufacturing costs are not much different from those of its rivals, he said.

Prices of its products, particularly TVs, are about 10 per cent lower than most other brands. The prices of many high-technology products are vulnerable to sharp falls whenever new models are launched.

TCL has a 10-12 per cent share of the TV market, which is its main business, in Thailand.

Although TCL is not well-known in terms of brand reputation, it can be pleased with its financial returns - last year it had Thai sales worth Bt2 billion, of which Bt1.5 billion came from TVs.

Metha said that with all the effort it has put in so far, including being an official sponsor of DhosPaak, TCL expected to see Bt3 billion sales by this year-end - a 50-per-cent increase from last year. About 50 per cent of sales will come from audio-visual products, 25 per cent from white goods, and 25 per cent from consumer electronics.

Above all, according to Metha, TCL's ultimate goal is to be one of the top three brands in Thailand's consumer electronics and IT markets within three years.

TCL has been successful as the top brand in its homeland over the last 25 years and also as a leading manufacturer in Europe and the United States, with 20 plants around the world.

Thailand is now the big challenge for TCL. It will be judged on how it competes against the currently strong Japanese and Korean brands, as well as on how it alters negative perceptions of Chinese brands among consumers.

Its aim is to become the top brand in Thai consumers' minds.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation