Branding men : exploring how leading Thai alcohol companies use masculinity to increase consumer market share in Thailand

Abstract

This thesis explores how alcohol companies use representations of men to develop ‘brand masculinities’ in order to sell their alcohol products in Thailand. The thesis argues that companies are using brand masculinities in order to achieve market dominance. As a result, companies seek to instil particular values, such as loyalty to the monarchy, Thai nationalism, inspirational capitalism, cosmopolitanism and following Buddhist traditional norms, in order to appeal to men across Thai society. To explore this process, the thesis draws upon two case studies of the leading Thai beer brands, Singha and Chang, by employing three methodological approaches. Firstly, a qualitative content analysis of television advertising applied to samples from the ten most successful alcohol brands in Thailand was carried out to explore their use of gender. Secondly, in-depth interviews with Singha and Chang executives were conducted to establish their understanding of the role of gender in their product promotion. Thirdly, a series of focus groups with a weighted sample of Thai participants was conducted to examine the way in which product branding was being interpreted. The thesis concludes by suggesting that brand masculinities contain a number of internal tensions that make it difficult to reach a wider range of the market. Such tensions sustain continual competition between the two companies that are lived out in their promotion of particular brand masculinities.