Bangkok--24 Apr--DC Consultants and Marketing Communications
Bangkok Event and Exhibition Co.,Ltd plans to organise the Bangkok Toy & Comic Convention on the new year, from January 7 to 10, 2010. It will be the first event of its kind to promote the character licensing industry and encourage Thai graphic designers to compete with the best in the world.
The fair will be supported by Departments of Intellectual Property, Department of Business Development and Department of Export Promotion, and the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB). It is expected to generate some hundreds of million baht from copyrights trading.
The organizer, state agencies, private companies and educational institutions believed that cartoon characters are an important element in the success of commercial branding. They have been used in many countries for this reason and the character licensing industry is growing rapidly every year.
Many countries in Europe and America as well as Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore have been holding fairs of this kind for years and have enjoyed a high revenue from them. In Thailand, where the ability of graphic designers to create cartoon characters is well known, the industry has enormous potential for development.
“Character licensing has established in Thailand for many years but public knowledge in this business is very limited,” said Thanasan Patcharapinyopong, Managing Director of Bangkok Event and Exhibition Co Ltd.
“It’s an industry that involves many businesses. Major companies use cartoon characters in their marketing and branding strategies, while others think about an idea and look for a character to bring it to life.”
“The business is not well known in Thailand because there has never been a business platform where licensors and licensees can meet and trade,” he said.
“There is no arena where graphic designers can show their work and meet with merchandisers. We need a place for everybody from upstream to downstream in the character industry can meet together,” said Thanasan.
“As event organizers, it’s our job to help them understand the system, not only from a business perspective, but also from the point of view of the state agencies and educational institutions that could be trendsetters.
“The Bangkok Toy & Comic Convention will be the venue for the new generation of character creators and copyright holders to meet and make deals with companies and organisations not only from Thailand but from overseas as well.
“A competition will be held for Thai character designers to enter their creations. It will be an opportunity for them to display their creative ability to companies looking for new characters to be used for their products. Now is the time for Thailand to show that its graphic designers are as good as those of any other leading country.”
Department of Intellectual Property shared the reason for supporting the event that the concern about the issue of copy right discourage copyright owners in Thailand or abroad from building this business in Thailand. To establish this industry systematically, Intellectual property protection measures has to be standardized, because these measures are essential for the benefit of both the copyright owners and the designers.
Department of Business Development, another supporting state agency for this event pointed out the fact that sheer amount of revenue from this industry circulated in mature markets like the UK, USA, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong could represent the chance for this business to grow in Thailand. With the possible growth of the business, Thai companies could think of using characters as a way of communicating with consumers. Owning the copyright of a cartoon character could be of great value for those marketing and promotional events, or for introducing new business opportunities.
Department of Export Promotion pointed out that Thai character design skills, witnessed in a number of world-famous animation films, is the advantage of Thailand in this regard. Many countries have shown interest in screening Thai animation films, and making commercial use of the characters could generate a huge income for Thailand.
“However, many potential character designers are not given the opportunity to express their ability as there is still no specific showcase for them here,” she said. “The Bangkok Toy & Comic Convention will be the stage for them to display their talents to domestic and international licensees and buyers.”
The convention would also tell the world that Thailand was able to organise an event of its kind to international standards, and show Thailand’s potential in the industry to visitors from all over the world, said Patrapee Chinachoti, board member of the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau. TCEB is confident that Bangkok Toy and Comic Convention will bring more spice to exhibition industry in Thailand. Besides, the event would act as a catalyst for the further development of Thai character towards international level. TCEB expects that the event itself could generate income of 110 million Bahts for Thailand.
In addition to government support, private participants in the convention include the Thai Toy Industry Association, the Thai Gifts Premiums & Decorative Association, the Thai Houseware Trade Association, the Thai Stationery and Office Supplies Association, the Thai Cartoonists Association, the Thailand Game Software Association, and the Thailand Animation & Computer Graphics Association.
The organizers welcome applications from domestic and international character designers, commercial license owners and merchandise manufacturers to come and join us in this exhibition.
Throughout this year, Bangkok Event and Exhibition will be actively using public relations approaches to raise public awareness of the event. Seminars will be organised to provide information about the character business, its commercial use and the value of characters as trademarks.
“Now is the time for Thailand to show its potential for the character business, with the first expo for everyone involved in the character industry from upstream to downstream.” said Thanasan.
“It will be an arena for the new generation cartoonists and character designers, and companies in other kinds of business may also discover new potential here. With the collaboration of the public and private sectors, I believe Thailand will prove itself to be on an equal footing with all the major players in the character industry.”
For more information, please contact:
DC Consultants and Marketing Communications Ltd
Dr. Wit Sittivaekin / Korakot Prakobkit / Patcharaporn Nipawattanawongsa /
Nitida Asawanipont
Tel. 0-2610-2336/2386/2326