Creative Entrepreneurship: Background and Characteristics of Advertising Business Entrepreneurs in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand

Abstract

The advertising business, one of Thailand’s key creative industries, has a strong economic and social impact. Hence, researches on this topic have mainly focused on the organizational structure and operation process of advertising agencies in Bangkok, the center of the industry, while studies on that of local are limited. However, knowledge on such topic is undoubted essential; local agencies can serve the needs of various local advertisers, they support national agencies in penetrating local markets, they also contribute to the strengthening of Thailand's creative industries as most employment and commercial activities take place within small businesses. Considering the aforementioned reasons, this study intents to answer the following research questions: 1. When and how did local advertising business start? 2. What creative entrepreneurship characteristics does an advertising business entrepreneur have? The purposes of this article were to explore background of advertising business and to clarify creative entrepreneurship characteristics of advertising business entrepreneurs in Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. The study was based on qualitative research methodology by using in-depth interviewing and self-assessment form to analyze the characteristics of eight entrepreneurs who were selected by specific qualifications. The results found that advertising businesses in Chiang Mai Province were established around 1985, they had primarily produced advertisements according to clients’ orders, especially for radio broadcasting and outdoor signage. At the present, they flexibly offer both advertising and non-advertising services. In addition, it revealed that the advertising business entrepreneurs were motivated to start their own businesses by both internal and external factors. Besides, it appeared that they clearly demonstrated excellent creative entrepreneurship characteristics, respectively: inventing himself/herself, endless learning, exploiting fame and celebrity, defining himself/herself by thinking or doing activities, having fun, being very ambitious, being kind, putting the priority on ideas, not on data, openly admiring success, being nomadic, and treating the virtual as real and vice versa. The findings indicated that the entrepreneurs actively evolved their business models according to local environment and technological changes while personal characteristics and experiences were the fundamental factors to run a successful business. Nevertheless, in the digital economy era, they do need to improve their competitiveness. Creative Economy Agency should support and develop the digital potential of entrepreneurs both using in operations and providing digital media services. Expanding domestic markets, by encouraging small and medium local enterprises to realize the importance of advertising and marketing communication, will increase demand for advertising business services as well.