• 
• 

Published on November 22, 2007

Graves said there was a shift in trust and tone of voice. People have less appreciation for celebrity endorsement of products. Instead, they listen more to friends and general consumers.

Many like to create social networks through online communities like hi5.com and Facebook. In the online community network, demographics and background are not people's prime concern. Instead, they find people who share the same interests and ideas, which Graves calls "tribes of the mind". He said there would be a lot of consumer fragmentation.

Another upcoming trend is in the healthcare industry. Graves said many countries were witnessing an increase in numbers of adults, especially the elderly, and fewer younger people, which meant a huge business opportunity for wellness programmes to prevent illness and alleviate medical costs.

As for Thailand, he said the number of elderly would double from today. Meanwhile, the proportion of "empty nesters" (elderly folk whose children have grown up and do no longer need financial support) and older singles are expected to increase from 14 per cent in 2005 to 21 per cent in 2025. He said these people would become a significant consumer market.

Ogilvy tapped this trend by setting up a new business unit called Ogilvy Health a year ago to act as an advertising and marketing consultant for its clients. The regional head office is in Seoul. Regarding doing business in Thailand, Graves showed a great concern in seeing the next government create "rock-solid stability", predictability and competency, in order to restore investor confidence and create a strong national brand.

"The new government needs to create meaningful change, to convince investors that they will not have to encounter any unfavourable surprise, particularly in terms of political atmosphere and reversal of law enforcement in a short time," he said.

He said stability was of the utmost concern among investors. The country must always be predictable, because making an investment is a large and slow endeavour.

A corruption-free atmosphere and a friendly business environment regarding taxes and infrastructure are two other factors of high concern.

He said Thailand was doing a good job in developing high technology like IT but continued to lag behind places in Asia such as South Korea and Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the country needs to improve its transportation network, particularly roads. In terms of a talent pool, he said the country had enough talented people to serve many fields.

Graves said the government needed to work hard to wipe out corruption.

However, he said Thailand's image had not been completely negative over the past 14 months since the coup. It actually depends on who is looking at the country. Investors in the stock market are satisfied with the country's movement, while investors in the industrial sector feel a slowdown. People opposed to military government give the Kingdom a failing grade.

Nitida Asawanipont, The Nation

Nitida Asawanipont

 The Nation