The month of March celebrates International’s Women Day and a number of articles were release about women’s impact on the economy. Bloomberg stated that “If the consumer economy had a sex, it would be female. Women drive 70-80% of all consumer purchasing, through a combination of their buying power and influence.”
YouGov, a British international internet-based market research and data analytics firm, freshly issued the top 10 Thai women’s ranking for brands using the impression score of 460 brands in the YouGov BrandIndex. The survey took place between 1st February 2018 and 31st January 2019.
The ranking table above illustrates that with a 67.5 score, LINE has a superior impression score above other brands. However, YouTube scores a close second with 67.2. Lazada and KFC make up the bottom of the list, sharing a score of just 51.5. What are the driving factors behind these scores, and what could brands do differently?
“LINE has become one of the most popular instant messenger applications among Thai people across all generations and genders. However, this survey solely polled women on their responses thus giving us a unique set of data. It would appear that Thai women prefer to communicate and chat with others using Line as opposed to other applications. Some might argue that this is because Line were one of the first to implement features such as cute stickers to express their emotions. Additionally, LINE is not only used for communicating but also to assist in making life more convenient such as through Rabbit
Line Pay. This function can assist women in embracing modern technology while shopping and paying for services. Line also has a news function where they can be updated on news and trends. It is therefore clear that, for women, LINE has everything that is needed for a modern lifestyle, according to Pacharee Pantoomano, the Managing Director of Brandnow.asia
YouTube took second place coming only 0.03 points shy of LINE, “YouTube has affected Thai women substantially due to famous influencers, bloggers and reviewers. Women view YouTube as one of the most convenient ways to follow the celebrity and influencer lifestyle. They may also use it to keep up with the latest beauty and make-up products, or decide which place to visit with their friends and family,” Pacharee added.
Recently, YouTube has introduced a live streaming function, allowing women to feel closer to the celebrities and personalities they follow. Similarly to Line, it provides an alternative way of watching the news as many news channels have their own YouTube channel to upload their show and news for audiences to re-watch. On the other hand, it is noticeable that YouTube advertisements can be frustrating which draws many complaints from women and frequent users. Therefore, this may explain why they could not beat Line to the top spot.
As previously mentioned, Lazada and KFC make up the bottom of the list. With identical scores, the two brands have one thing in common that may make Thai women like they both. It is clear that Lazada and KFC push more promotions than their competitors, and market themselves as family friendly in their product or service categories. Lazada sells a plethora of family products including decorations and children’s toys, whilst KFC have a smaller meals for children and family sets. These combinations of offerings may be what allow the two brands to clinch a top ten spot.
Overall the aforementioned features and willingness to pioneer the way in technology, whilst simultaneously making Thai women lives easier, may be the reason why Line gained the top rank in the 2019 brand impression score. However, if YouTube can find a way to make advertisements seem less invasive and detrimental to the viewing experience in time for 2020, then they might have a chance to steal the top spot.
For more information about top 10 Thai women’s ranking on brand and other market research please visit https://www.brandindex.com/
