Grab Thailand aims to increase revenue by signing up more advertisers
Grab, one of Southeast Asia's leading superapps, is expanding its client base in the advertising business in Thailand, with the goal of increasing its revenue channel in the online service providers industry.
Chantsuda Thananitayaudom, Grab Thailand commercial and marketing senior director, told a press conference on Thursday that the decision came at an opportune time because today's consumers' behaviours and lifestyles are fully integrated between online and offline.
As a result, advertisers and marketers have to adapt by developing strategies that are tailored to consumers' lifestyles while also allowing them to seamlessly connect online and offline experiences.
She said that Grab Thailand has been providing advertising solutions to its partners since 2018.
Initially, the services provided additional income to its drivers.
Over time, the company expanded into in-app advertising media, allowing merchants and brands to reach a larger user base within the app. This expansion resulted in the creation of a comprehensive retail media network known as "GrabAds."
In terms of this year's expansion, she noted that Grab Thailand plans to reach out to new business sectors.
In addition to food and beverages, Grab will continue to expand its client base in three key sectors: Fast-moving consumer goods, automotive, and finance and banking. The three sectors have consistently increased their marketing spending to actively engage with consumers, Chantsuda said.
"Our goal is to establish GrabAds as Thailand's leading Retail Media Networks (RMNs)," she said, explaining that RMNs are operated by retail operators or online marketplaces. The model uses the retailer's customer data, shopping behaviour insights, and digital infrastructure to provide advertising and marketing opportunities.
According to GroupM's global mid-year forecast for 2023, RMN is the third-fastest growing media, with a global total value expected to reach US$ 125.7 million. It is expected to outpace television revenue by 2028.
Meanwhile, according to Kantar Media Reactions 2022, GrabAds is one of Southeast Asia's top three online advertising platforms for Advertising Equity.
Therefore, the scenario indicates that Grab should make progress in promoting its advertising service solutions, Chantsuda said.
She then highlighted the three key strengths of GrabAds advertising business.
The first strength is Grab's ecosystem's online-to-offline integration. She explained that it offers comprehensive marketing solutions, from brand awareness to conversion, using a variety of media formats, both in-app and offline.
The second strength is a captive high-value customer base, which she claims Grab Ads has access to.
According to Grab, approximately 60% of all Thai users who opened the Grab app in a given month completed a transaction on it. As a result, the ad click through rate is three to five times higher than on other Thai platforms.
The final strength is access to first-party data insight, which refers to a set of data derived from actual spending habits of Grab app users.
Chantsuda noted that the data covering various aspects of daily life provides brands with rich insights to reach out to their targeted groups more precisely.
The insights can reveal lifestyles and behaviours such as favourite foods, frequently purchased products, favourite places, and travel plans.
