I’m now coming to the end of my second week in Bangkok and I can’t believe how quickly it has gone. After waiting almost a year to do my exchange, it was beginning to feel like I was never going to make it here!
I arrived on a Sunday night to toasty 30 degree heat; a stark contrast to the cold grey winter weather in Dublin! I met Sue, the Thai Exchange Champion, the following morning (after getting a little bit lost) and we made our way to the office. What struck me was how modern this part of Bangkok is – the last time I visited Bangkok in 2013 was only for 2 days and we mainly just saw the tourist hotspots – so I think my opinion of Bangkok was slightly skewed. Stepping out of the BTS station straight onto a busy street a few minutes’ walk from the office, I was met with a blast of heat and a lot of new smells – some good, some not so good!
The team here have been really welcoming and got me involved in their work straight away. I’ve worked with Bee on a few new business pitches which have been really interesting. He moved to Bangkok from the UK last September and worked with one of the guys from my office in Mediacom Manchester a few years back – small world! From working with Bee, I’ve learned a lot about creative strategy development and how all the teams feed into it which is something I had little exposure to previously. I’ve also had an opportunity to learn about one of our biggest global clients and share my local market knowledge with them. It’s been great to get an insight into how the brand operates in Thailand and it’s something I can share with my team when I get back.
I also got to meet a lot of Thai TV stars along the way – no idea who they are but I’ve been informed they’re a big deal!
GroupM hosted their NextM event during my first week here – it’s a 2 day conference for GroupM clients where they showcase 2017 trends and opportunities. Even though the seminars were in Thai I could get a grasp of what they were talking with the help of Bee as my translator and some English stats on screen. One of the most interesting platforms in Thailand is Line – think a super enhanced Whatsapp where you can chat to friends, watch exclusive VOD content and TV reruns (2 hours after they appear on live TV), play games and a place for brands to engage consumers. Almost 90% of mobile users in Thailand use this platform which is staggering. It’ll be interesting to see if it makes its way to Europe in the near future.
Everything is bigger and brighter in Bangkok in terms of OOH. It’s everywhere! From a metro station that was completely taken over by an e-commerce site – from the steps in the stairwells, metro tickets, all inventory in the station and announcements in the train itself – to giant digital screens outside shopping centres and lining the roadsides.
P’Noo did a great job of showing me the sights during my first weekend here. We had an amazing lunch by the river with a view of Wat Arun, wandered around the notorious Khao San Road (a totally different place by day!) and got a totally relaxing foot massage that nearly sent me off to sleep! As the King passed away last year the country is still in an official mourning period – it was an experience to see thousands of people dressed in black queuing up to pay their respects outside the Grand Palace when we passed by.
The exchange programme has been a great opportunity to experience what it’s like to work in a different market. The more we share the more we learn from each other – there may be challenges we’ve yet to face but that other markets have overcome. The strong Maxus culture is evident here and that comes down to the people who have made this a memorable experience for me.
