Page 6 - myanmar

SPOTLIGHT ON
WELCOME
TIME TO MOVE
New era of openness signals strong growth opportunity
The story of Myanmar is one of potential. After decades of isolation, there are now clear signals that significant change is under way.
As soon as sanctions were lifted
WPP entered Myanmar. It was our
111th country. We entered fast as we believe there will be strong growth here, increasing wealth and changing consumer habits. All of this represents a huge opportunity for brands. We want to be there now, to guide local brands through the stages of development we have experience of in other markets, and to help international brands understand the nuances of Myanmar.
This remains a market with widespread poverty, with poor infrastructure and limited access to consumer choice.
But, as US President Barack Obama said during his visit to Myanmar in 2012, “Change can happen very fast if a spotlight is shone on a country, and the people there start believing that their voices can be heard.”
The three years since that visit have already brought tremendous change. Most significant were the elections
in late 2015, which herald a new era for people who have been hungry for progress.
We have seen in the past year alone how quickly market reforms can transform people’s lives. Mobile phone ownership in Myanmar has grown from almost nothing to nearly half of the population, due to market liberalisation and competition.
COLOR AND ENERGY
This report forms part of our Thought Leadership series, produced to mark 10 years of WPP’s respected BrandZTM Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking. Over those years, we have learnt much about the way markets mature, how consumer demands change and how brands succeed and grow their value to shareholders.
For this report, we have drawn on that knowledge to predict how the consumer and retail markets are likely to evolve in Myanmar. Because of
the potential we see for brands here,
for the fist time we have conducted our proprietary BrandZTM research
in Myanmar, to understand how consumers regard brands now, gauge the scale of the opportunity in future and begin tracking brands’ journeys.
Through the specially commissioned photographs of Cecilie Østergren, we also hope to show you the color and energy of this amazing country.
Myanmar has a young population of 51 million people, as the first national census in 30 years recently confirmed. Wealth will not come
to the people here overnight, but the pace of change is likely to be faster than we’ve seen in any other fast-growing market. This is because digital technology is present as a catalyst for growth right from the start.
In fast-growth markets in Africa, we have seen the power that mobile phones can have and the way they shape developing business sectors. Mobile payments and micro-lending are more advanced in many of these markets than in those with strong legacy fixed-line communications systems.
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