International Health Policy Program -Thailand 1 Alcohol marketing in non-western countries : Thailand Thaksaphon Thamarangsi International Health Policy Program

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 2 Outline of presentation Thailand: situation in brief Thai marketing regulation Marketing practice: Product, Price, Place, Promotion Synthesis part – Difference between domestic and international operators – Difference between advertising in Thailand and Western countries – The way forward

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 3 Thailand: a perfect emerging market for alcohol industry 65 million population, 95% Buddhism & 4% Moslem Country in transition: modernization, increase income, fade of religion faith and social control, globalization Sky rocket increase in per capita consumption (recorded alcohol) 0.26 in 1961 >> 8.47 L of pure alcohol per adult in 2001, since then quite stable Particular growth in western-style beverages 12-time growth in beer consumption in 16 years, Gradual decrease for domestic distilled beverages (Thai style/ indigenous style), since the liberalized market campaign, in 2000 Unrecorded alcohol still has substantial proportion, estimated to be 2 L/capita/year Stable in drinker prevalence, 1/3 of adult High gender discrepancy, female drinker prevalence~10% Increase prevalence among teen and young adult, particularly female Steady increase in drinking frequency, still yet 50% drink not more than once a month High per capita consumption from low drinker prevalence and low drinking frequency, therefore very high drinking volume per occasion

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 4 Thai alcohol market: at a glimpse Share of production and imported volume by beverage type, 2005 End of production monopoly in 90s Affected by economic agreements (cheaper imported beverages), modern trade system International operators has invaded Thai market since, and focused not only premium market sectors (like before) Yet still oligopoly

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 5 Marketing regulations Promotion regulation revised in 2003, known as Partial Ban, enforced between The new Alcohol Consumption Control Act 2008, – Raises minimum purchasing age (on- and off- premises) from 18 to 20 years – Bans sale and drink in many public venues: religion, education, park, etc – Revise advertising again, subject for further regulation (expected to be announced soon): No advertising, except to promote social value which brand and logo can be broadcasted- but not product or quality of beverage Confusing stage for both regulator and operators Operators enjoy free-riding at the moment

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 6 Advertising control: in summary Alcohol advertisement is regulated in three dimensions; content, channel & time and place, and warning messages. Prohibited contents include; Drinking pictures and sounds and consumption encouraging Linking to corporate image in unclear manner Give away or lucky draw campaign Linking to sexual and life success and health benefits Using celebrities ( sport/music/movie stars) as presenter(s) Channels TV and radio: allow only Billboard: 500 meters to educational venue

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 7 Advertisement budget categorized by types of alcohol beverages, Thailand Source: Foundation for consumers Beer Whisky

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 8 Marketing practice: Product Diversification of beverages: i.e. three segments of beers New beverage for new customer segment Introduction of never-seen-before beverages, tailored to customer groups: RTDs, Alcoholic Frappe Westernization of alcohol market Anglicized domestic products: i.e Spy, Blue, Golden Knight, Cavalier Trooper Localization of low-end products: ESAN (North- Eastern) Beer, TAI Beer Observation: Naming beers names that are linkable to met-amphetamine/ Kick effect: i.e. Red horse, Archa (literally horse) Adaptation to Thai context: Alcoholic Frappe, Beer girl

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 9 Marketing practice: Product

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 10 Marketing practice: Price Mushrooming of cheap/ economy grade beverages Disproportion to income growth A can of beer [1.28 standard drink] is sold at Baht ( USD) A 660 ml. bottle of 6% beer [3.18 standard drink] at 30 Baht (0.75 USD) Beer price still higher than cola (from very cheap cola price), generally cheaper than milk and mineral water

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 11 Marketing Practice: Place High accessibility: 110 population/1 outlet, 7.5 minute on average – licensing procedure and fee are no barrier – Modern trade: introduction of convenient stores to every community – Substantial proportion of unlicensed outlets – Better transportation Effective distribution system Point of sales: 58.64% grocery store, convenient store, 5.3% supermarket and discount store, 0.85 from shop in petrol station: therefore % off-premise sale Contract between producer and outlet

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 12 Marketing practice: Place

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 13 Marketing practice: Promotion Integrated advertising Relationships between over and below the line promotion i.e. budgets for mobile advertisements such as ads-on-vehicle, and on-drinking-site promotions increased by 583% and 148% in one year after the 2003 Partial ban Modern advertising channels Sponsorship still play a big role

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 14 Integrated marketing

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 15 Integrated advertising From TV to Website to drinking venue TV spot Website On site promotion

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 16 Exempted area: internet

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 17 Logo advertising

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 18 Sponsorship & social donation Mainly unregulated Well designed for customer groups Broadcasting of sponsorship by surrogate products Advertise on social donation Many events are gradually replaced by ThaiHealth Promotion Foundation, funded by 2% extra surcharge of alcohol & tobacco excise tax

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 19 Sponsorship: sport

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 20 Sponsorship: entertainment event

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 21 Sponsorship: cultural events & donation

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 22 Alcohol industry: Cunning entrepreneurs

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 23 Give away & Lucky draw campaign

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 24 Beer Girl system

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 25 Ad-on-the-go

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 26 Advertising monitoring system Setting up the hotline center in Health Ministry, yet still reactive to complaints Practically no punishment More effective through academics: Media Monitor project NGOs & civil society can effectively support regulation enforcement

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 27 Pitfalls of current advertising control Policy content Comprehensiveness: unable to cover below- the-line and modern advertising channels Poor punishment Policy downstream Poor implementation No official and evaluation mechanism

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 28 Differences in promotion practices: domestic and international operators Advertising contents and channels: decreasing discrepancy, learning from each others International operators: relation to its main company International operators: use of regional and international advertising themes Domestic operators: can use the locality themes

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 29 International themes

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 30 Differences in alcohol promotion Thailand and Western countries Differences mainly come from promotion regulations and cultures Difference in content: extent, not direction Sensitive issues include sexual appeal, and family drinking

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 31 Generalization of Thai experiences to others Emerging market countries will suffer most from alcohol advertising in the long run. These is are the most populous areas. Thai marketing control is strong and comprehensive, compared to other middle and low income countries, yet it cannot stop the recruitment of new drinkers

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 32 The way forward Alcohol is a globalized problem, but policy is confined to national boundary. We need international mechanism to control alcohol marketing. The concept of Alcohol as no ordinary commodity should be the backbone principle for any policy decision. To have this the connection between knowledge segment, advocacy and policy makers should be strengthened. Knowledge generation, sharing and utilization are as of paramount important

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 33 Scenarios analysis Country weak Country strong Regional/ Global weak - Pandemic alcohol consumption & harms, - Good for industries, - Bad for health - Successful domestic alcohol policies, - threats by trade treaties Regional/ Global strong -Alcohol policies were shelved, -NATO scenarios - Comprehensive global, regional and national synergistic policies strategies, - Actions in good pace, - Good for health, - Fair for the industries

International Health Policy Program -Thailand 34 Thank you