Shigeo Okazaki, marketing director of Dentsu Beijing, said Thailand should develop a consistent value encompassing what Thailand is all about.

He said that while neighbouring countries had strong communications messages, such as "Uniquely Singapore" and Malaysia's "Truly Asia", Thailand's image remained divided and unclear.

Thailand needs to integrate its tourism, culture, economic strengths, financial markets and human resources under one slogan, he said.

Branding can be based on a country's art, food, cinema and fashion.

Okazaki wrote a piece last year for Edge magazine in Malaysia called "The Power of Branding".

He argued there were four key performance indicators of brand strength: relevance, confidence, differentiation and growth.

"A strong brand can sell more and sell longer. It can sell at a higher price," he said.

Okazaki said a brand should strengthen using "energisers" like strong products, promotion, sponsorship, powerful symbols, a corporate social-responsibility programme, relevance to consumer values, localisation and word of mouth.

But he said branding was an ongoing process, with the message needing regular refreshment, although it should not be totally updated.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation