The station’s confident operator, Thai entertainment leader RS Public Co Ltd, is investing Bt100 million in an ongoing ”rejuvenation” campaign, counter to the general downward trend of the sector.

The station’s operator attributes its success to the brand’s relentless efforts to rejuvenate itself and to offer something modern and fresh to cater to its audience’s lifestyle both online and offline.

Prin Minsuksaeng, the managing director of Coolism, the operator of Cool Fahrenheit, said radio station’s audience base was growing steadily. According to Nielsen Media Research (Thailand), Cool Fahrenheit’s listeners in 2018 rose sharply from 1.2 million a month in January to 1.8 million in December – a 50-per-cent growth.

“This is why it remains the No 1 radio station for both the online and offline platforms,” said Prin.

Its web-based audience – on iOS and Android – is about 60 million a year. “This success is due to the station’s business transformation to become a 4.0 station in all aspects, with outside-the-box marketing, and marketing activities to build loyalty, and CRM [customer relations management] activities to offer special privileges [Coolprivilege] to its audience,” Prin said.

To boost its online audience, it offers users opportunities to collect points and redeem rewards. In terms of activities, there are “Cooldegree” exclusive activities, “Coolouting” trips, and dining activities with trusted brand endorser ML Parson Svasti – a food expert – inviting participants to enjoy famous and delicious dishes.

Cool Fahrenheit is marching forward confidently, following its rejuvenation concept, by investing Bt100 million to make the brand young and relevant, catering to both online and offline lifestyles. And it is doing all that while still retaining the brand’s character, which has remained consistent over the past 15 years, says Prin.

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And the brand character is to be a radio station that appeals to the “music and lifestyle community”. The station makes its [target] audience, who are 20-44 years old, feel connected and form a sense of community, said Prin.

“In this era, things move fast, and businesses have to keep up, so the station must offer a relevant experience that appeals to its digital audience in terms of lifestyle trends, while also keeping in mind the economic and social climate.”

Prin said many of its activities had been well received. He cited Coolouting, in which the radio station took its audience and their colleagues to different destinations in Thailand, and abroad like Taiwan, South Korea, Macau, Maldives and Luang Prabang.

For its “Ink Eat ALL Around” activity, led by ML Parson Svasti, the audience was taken to enjoy delicious food throughout the year, with a focus on culinary highlights of seven secondary destinations. Cool Music Fest is a free concert that invites the station’s audience to travel back in time and enjoy a blast from the past. Cool Fahrenheit aims to be a one-stop shopping hub for office people, while Line@COOLanything aims to turn the station’s audience into customers through promotions and targeted products, including its top-selling makeup products.

“Cool Fahrenheit is not intimidated by business disruption,” explained Prin. “In the digital era, we have to move fast and stay relevant. We feel that this is a challenge, and in the next few years, radio stations must move faster in terms of marketing. They have to be in-trend and have good management.

“Needless to say, technology will continue to progress, so marketers must keep up and keep their platforms fresh.”

Cool Fahrenheit, as a leading radio station, has been invited by the NBTC to try out DAB+ broadcasting, which offers clearer signals than FM, he noted.

“This shows that the radio business is here to stay, and new innovations will be introduced. Radio stations can still generate profits. In the past year, Cool Fahrenheit generated Bt300 million in revenue,” said Prin.

Regus, the world’s leading workspace provider, recently opened a new location on the 30th floor of Singha Complex – a state-of-the-art grade A office. The new location adds to Regus’ existing network of 21 locations across Thailand, with just a few steps from Phetchaburi MRT station and Makkasan Station Airport Rail Link (ARL).

Spread over the entire 30th floor of Singha Complex, Regus’ new branch provides 1,134 sq ft of office space including 73 office rooms, 200 workstations and two meeting rooms with unparalleled flexible workspace experience and a commanding view of Asoke Montri Road and Phetchaburi Road in central Bangkok. Also available is a range of ready- to- use office amenities, business-grade Internet and telephony service, as well as a kitchen, cleaning service and round-the- clock receptionists to help make your working experience hassle free and memorable.

In addition, the new Regus offers services that go beyond the traditional workspace, such as a virtual office that provides you with a stunning company mailing address in the central business district ; as well as ‘hot desks’ that allow individuals to jump from office-to-office across Regus’ extensive locations throughout Bangkok. Regus has a global network of offices, co-working and meeting spaces in 3,300 locations across 110 countries around the globe.

 Noelle Coak, country head of Thailand/Taiwan/Korea said the launch of Regus’ 21st location at Singha Complex confirms that this area remains an attractive business location for Thais and foreigners. The Asoke – Phetchaburi area is well-recognised amongst driven professionals and digital nomads, who want to excel on their career in a fast-paced city. The new centre is available for employees of startups, small and medium companies as well as large organisations and freelancers.

“This new opening is part of Regus’ commitment to expand into strategic locations across Thailand, and to meet the increasing demand for flexible workspace in the country. Hence, we will innovate and grow continually , and to provide the best flexible and convenient working experience to those looking for more inspiring options when working,” Noelle added.

Ninth award in a row

Tibor Pandi, first left, head of Citi Thailand, recently received the Thailand’s Best Global Bank Award at the Asset Asian Awards 2018 from Asset magazine, one of Asia’s leading financial publications.

This marked the 9th consecutive year Citi Thailand has won the highly respected award, representing the success of Citi Thailand’s efforts and dedicated commitment to provide the best services to its 1 million customers in Thailand in corporate and consumer banking solutions.

Delta takes part in EEI’s 20th anniversary event

Delta Electronics (Thailand) Plc recently joined other electronics companies operating in Thailand and the government and academics sectors at the Electrical and Electronics Institute (EEI)’s 20th anniversary event entitled “Driving Toward Standardisation and Innovation” at Bangpoo Industrial Estate.

Founded in 1998, the EEI offers quality services to ensure international standards and competitiveness in Thailand’s electronics industry.

The EEI event presented a platform for Delta to showcase its EV charging solutions to drive auto electrification in Thailand including the AC Mini Plus EV Charger and DC Wallbox Charger.

Kittisak Ngoenngokngam, Delta’s business director/Southeast Asia , demonstrated how Delta’s EV charging can support emissions-free vehicles.

As a major electronics company of Thailand, Delta proactively supports the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy. Delta’s sustainable growth strategy has guided its transformation to a smart solutions provider of innovative, clean and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow.

“Our target this year in Cambodia is to maintain existing businesses which produce and sell our products, and to add new service solutions and introduce retail or B2C to the market,” Somwang who is also managing director of Kampot Cement, a subsidiary of SCG which holds the majority of its shares, told The Nation in a recent group interview.

Roofing solutions and interior decoration will be introduced to the Cambodian market as new service solutions under the company’s five-year plan.

“Consumers’ behaviours have changed now,” Somwang said. “They need something comprehensive.”

Roofing solutions for residential houses will undergo a trial starting in March, he added.

In the past, when clients bought roof tiles under its brand, bad installation by masons or contractors sometimes resulted in problems. SCG saw it as a pain point and decided to address it through launching a new service, with the firm offering a guarantee to clients for after-sale service, said Somwang.

As for the retail market, SCG will offer online and offline services for retail – B2C –for home construction, renovation and decoration. According to Somwang, no companies in Cambodia have offered these services.

The new services were chosen after Somwang saw high potential due to expected growth in the Cambodian construction industry in the next five years.

Certainly, new high-rise buildings and housing projects are easily seen in this capital city. Somwang, who has lived in Phnom Penh for more than five years describes how the capital city now differs from the past.

China and Japan have increased their investments in the country, and that has helped drive an ongoing increase in construction projects.

Somwang sees that as an opportunity for Kampot Cement to sell more cement. New projects are being approved, such as a new expressway that will connect Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. The expressway will stretch over 190 kilometres and will be built on a build-operate-transfer basis by state-owned Chinese Communication Construction Company Ltd, with construction costs estimated at nearly $2 billion (Bt62.7 billion).

“Construction has commenced, requiring about 500,000-600,000 tonnes of cement for three years of work. As leader in the market, we will supply the bulk of the materials ,” he said.

The Cambodian government also has plans to build two more ring roads to support the expansion of the city community, he noted.

Another expressway project involves the construction of a 160-kilometre stretch of road connecting Phnom Penh to Bavet in Svay Rieng province, which will be linked to an expressway from the border gate at Moc Bai, on the Vietnamese side, to Ho Chi Minh City.

The study was conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which revealed that the project will cost about $3.8 billion.

Moreover, more hotels are being built as Cambodia experiences a boom in the tourism industry. Last year, four million foreign tourists and two million Chinese visited the country, Somwang said.

“The government also has plan to expand its airports to facilitate the boost of tourism” he added.

Kampot Cement now produces around two million tonnes of cement at its factory in Kampot, a province in southwestern Cambodia. The firm is studying whether to set up more factories.

SCG started it business in Cambodia more than two decades ago. It now boasts seven subsidiaries in the country: Kampot Cement Co Ltd, Concrete Roof Cambodia Co Ltd, CPAC Cambodia Co Ltd, CPAC Plank Cambodia Co Ltd, Nawaplastic Cambodia Co Ltd, SCG Trading (Cambodia) Co Ltd, and SCG Logistic Cambodia Co Ltd.

SCG’s products cover a wide range of building materials for all needs of home and commercial construction under the SCG and K-Cement brands. Their four major products by sales volume are cement, ready-mixed concrete, roof tiles, and PVC pipe, according to Somwang.

Somwang conceded that his firm’s products are more expensive than the same products by its competitors, but says the company’s product quality is far superior.

“People here in Cambodia care more about quality and strength than the price. They use stronger and better quality construction materials. So the cost [using SCG’s materials] is 30-40 per cent higher and some materials are imported,” he added.

Somwang noted that when the company was first founded in Cambodia, they needed to stress the quality and service, and that there would be no supply shortages. Those advantages have made the firm a strong brand.

SCG reported good results in Cambodia last year, experiencing double-digit growth from its subsidiaries’ sales, with revenue rising to $396 million (Bt10 billion), a 15 per cent jump over 2017. Total revenue last year mainly came form sales of its main product, cement.