Over 80% Of Thais Of 25-34 Ages Have Smart Phones

BANGKOK : Thailand is the country where more than 80% of population aged 25-34 own smartphones, a survey by IPG Mediabrands revealed. 

 

The leading global media holding company’s finding was from its online survey from May-July  with a sample size of 10,000 across 19 countries, of whom 500 respondents were in Thailand.

The survey focused on people with  ages of 25-34 which it called “millennials” (ages 18-34)  because of the importance of their spending behaviour. This group is said to have  high-potential purchasing power next year.

These potential buyers were born and raised under a series of financial crises along with the technological revolution in the past decades, so the long recession had a profound impact on them.

Of the Thai participants, 50 per cent said they had their income reduced, while the global figure was 36 per cent.

About 79 per cent of the Thais confessed that they were worried about their personal financial situation, while the global average was lower at 72 per cent. About 29 per cent of Thai participants feared losing their jobs.

Although millennials appear to be more cautious about spending, they are smart consumers, as they appreciate spending money for products and brands that help improve their image and reflect their high social status.

This kind of consumer is able to switch brands and adapt to new products and technology. Brands should treat them with respect and as equals. 

Products and services should give them truth and authenticity.

Millennials are always connected with online communications to connect and share their stories.

According to the survey, 81 per cent of Thais own smartphones, which was higher than the global average of 45 per cent.

Technology has empowered millennials in their relationships.

Of Thai participants, 95 per cent said they used social media every day.

Today 33 million Thais spent 90 minutes per day on various platform of   social media (300% growth),  breaking down to 28 million on Facebook (35% growth), 1,600 million views of Top Channel  on YouTube ( 270% growth).

Thai viewers of You Tube  ranked  second in Asia Pacific while Thai users of Instagram  grew 240% to 1.5 users.

It said 64% of Thais use smartphone in social media communications.

Of the total 67 million Thai population, 27 million are Internet users, 28 million use social medias, 34.6 million use smart phones, and 4.7 million use tablets.

IPG Mediabrands is the global media holding company of Interpublic, and a full-service media network based upon a “Pay-for-Performance” model.

The company manages and invests $36 billion in global media on the behalf of its clients, employs over 8,500 diverse marketing communication specialists worldwide and operates businesses in more than 127 countries.

Most Of Indonesia At Risk Of Land Slides

JAKARTA : A recent landslide in Central Java that has left at least 39 people dead has highlighted Indonesia’s vulnerability to fatal landslides, as well as the government’s inability to adequately deal with chronic catastrophes, according to The Jakarta Globe.

 

Indonesia’s National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) reported on Sunday evening that 39 people are confirmed dead after heavy rain on Friday triggered a landslide in Jemblung, Banjarnegara district, Central Java, burying dozens of homes.

More than a dozen of people are injured and more than 70 others remain missing, while a total of 577 people have been displaced from their homes and are now staying in temporary shelters, the BNPB says.

“Families of identified victims have taken [their relatives’ remains] and held a burial for them.

A police forensic team are still identifying others,” BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in a press statement on Sunday.  “Refugees urgently need food, blankets, sanitary kits, medicines and clothing — children’s clothing especially.”

A joint team of police, military, BNPB officers and volunteers — 2,000 personnel in total — had been dispatched to search for the missing victims, he added. 

The Ministry of Public Works also has sent in heavy equipment expected to help victim search.

President Joko Widodo visited the site around midday on Sunday. He also visited a shelter for displaced victims and a local community health center treating those who are injured.

Officials blame conversion of lands into farms and illegal logging in Banjarnegara for one of the worst landslide disasters recorded in Indonesia over the past few years.

Five Million Baht Worth Of Contraband Foreign Liquor Seized From Military Truck

HAT YAI : Customs officials today (Sunday) seized over 300 crates of contraband foreign liquors worth about five million baht from a suspected military lorry at a gas station in Hat Yai.

 

The green truck has license plate number 6195, bears the symbolic shield of the military and letters on both sides of the body which read KhorSor 24 BorKhorRor 4.  The truck was covered by a black canvas.

Customs officials found under the canvas over 300 crates of foreign liquor of different brands. 

The seized liquor was later taken to customs office in Hat Yai for further inspection.

Customs officials said they would try to verify whether the truck belong to the military or not and if yes which unit owns the truck.

Lower Southern Coastal Provinces Brace For More Rains And Storms

 

 

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT : Heavy rains,  strong wind and flash floods have hit four coastal southern provincials along the Gulf today as the Weatherman warned of storm and choppy sea in the Gulf.

 

In Nakhon Si Thammarat, flash floods struck parts of NopPitum, Prom Khiri, Si Chon and ThaSala districts cutting off several roads and bridges.  More than 100 houses were inundated.

Villagers whose houses are located on the beaches from Ban ThaPhya to Ban Na Kote in Pak Phanang district started evacuating further inland to stay temporarily with their relatives for fear of the big waves and strong wind. 

Some villagers dismantled parts of their houses to be rebuilt on land plots deeper inland.
The wave protection wall along the road from Ban Na Kote to Hua Sai district was broken at several points from the force of the waves.

In Phatthalung province, people living in TambonKuanKhanoon and TambonChamuang of KuanKhanoon district were today told to move their valuables to higher ground as water in the irrigation canal was steadily rising and was expected to inundate the two tambons late Sunday.

In SuratThani, the public disaster prevention and mitigation office warned people in high risk areas along the northern coast and plains in Tha Chana, Chaiya and Vibhavadi districts to closely monitor weather reports until December 18.

In Krabi, several long-tail boats catering to tourists at NopparaThara beach in TambonAo Nang have suspended operations due to heavy rains and choppy sea.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department said that the lower southern region would experience more rains and heavy rains in certain parts as a result of strong high pressure from China.  Small boats were told not to venture out into the sea.

UK Braced Bor Atlantic 'Weather Bomb' Storm And High Waves

(BBC) Severe gales and "exceptionally high" waves are expected to hit coastal areas in the north west of the UK later.

The Met Office says western and northern Scotland and the far north of Northern Ireland should be prepared for "dangerous conditions" during the day.

Train and ferries have been cancelled as a rapidly-developing Atlantic storm - a so-called weather bomb - threatens gusts of up to 80 mph (130 kph).

A yellow "be aware" warning is in place for northern England and north Wales.

Ahead of the forecast storms, ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne warned of severe disruption to its services

German Court Throws Out WWII Oradour-Sur-Glane Massacre Case

(CNN) -- A German court has thrown out a case against a former SS member accused of participating in the massacre of 642 residents of a French village during World War II.

The 89-year-old had been accused of murdering 25 people and aiding the murder of several hundred others at Oradour-sur-Glane in central France on June 10, 1944.

According to the indictment, troops surrounded the village before rounding up all the residents in the town square and separating the men from the women and children.

The men were shot in four barns, which were then burned down. The women and children were imprisoned in a church into which explosives and hand grenades were thrown. Troops then set that building alight, killing any survivors of the initial attack.

There was no doubt that members of the man's Panzer regiment had killed the Oradour-sur-Glane residents and burned down the village, the Cologne Regional Court said in a statement Tuesday.

Lots Of Goodies, A Little Exploitation For Bangkok's Expat 'Models'

BANGKOK: -- Jessica arrived in Bangkok four years ago with empty pockets and no desire to return to the United Kingdom.

Fresh from backpacking across Asia, she took a teaching job she despised just to stick around. That’s when one of her condo neighbors, a casting agent, suggested she try modeling on the side.

“I never considered it before, but I didn’t have any money, and I didn’t have any friends,” Jessica said. “So it seemed like a good idea. I went to my first casting for a Japanese commercial.”

She didn’t get the job, but met a guy who invited her to one of Bangkok’s notorious “models nights” and her first dreamy taste of the expat “beautiful people” scene where skinny, statuesque eye-candy from Eastern Europe and South America bask in free stuff and can find themselves being groomed for prostitution.

“I have to say they were sort of like better-looking backpackers,” she remembers. “They all had three-month tourist visas and just wanted to have fun and party,” said Jessica, who didn’t want her name used because she is still working in Bangkok.

Back when she was the new girl in Bangkok, she started going five nights a week, but not for the pleasant company.
“A lot of time was spent talking about things like, ‘I want to go to Japan, but I need to lose weight,’” she recounted. Instead it was the ready supply of free food and booze – 10 drink tickets up front and free piles of king prawns and sashimi. There was a different bar or nightclub offering free goodies every night of the week, and this crowd loved to get wasted and blow lots of coke.

During that time, not much happened for Jessica’s professional modeling career. She got two jobs as a commercial extra. She wouldn’t have called herself a model, but hey – she had a “comp card” identifying her as such at bars and clubs.

“What defines a real model anyway?” said Jessica, who was 21 at the time and had just graduated from university with honors. “I guess some worked, but maybe just once every three months.”

A nightlife institution

The model scene has long held a warm and fuzzy spot in Bangkok’s nightlife, and so-called “Models Nights” remain a staple of the free-wheeling nightlife scene everywhere from low-rent discos to high-end eateries.

There are model nights almost every day of the week, and almost every upscale restaurant, bar or nightclub has advertised such parties, from Zuma and Limoncello to Maggie Choo’s. A decade after it was pioneered in Bangkok by Bed Supperclub, regular “models nights” can be found Tuesdays at Flix on RCA and Fridays at Circle on Soi Ruamrudee. That’s not to mention Fashion TV’s The Love F Bar in Mixx, which also offers 10 drinks and a free taxi for groups of three models on certain nights, and Koi is perhaps the most well-known model hangout.