Jumping on the “mascot marketing” bandwagon, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on Thursday announced plans to use Butter Bear, the mascot for Thai dessert shop Coffee Beans by Dao, to promote domestic tourism.
According to TAT, the “Suk Than Thee Kub Mee Noei” (“Be Happy Now with Butter Bear”) campaign will launch later this month and run until August, during which Butter Bear fans can travel, dine and shop with the beloved mascot to different locations across Thailand.
“There are about 10 million Butterbear fans in Thailand, so we expect more than 100,000 tourists to participate in the campaign and generate more than 100 million baht in tourism revenue,” said Nithi Sipraye, vice president of marketing and communications at the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
Butterbear is also well-known in the Chinese market, with an estimated fan base of around one million, so TAT is also expected to attract participants from China.
Nithi added that TAT has chosen well-known tourist destinations as highlights of the travel programme and is preparing a promotional video for the campaign.
Other activities will include fan meeting sessions, raffles and games with prizes including discount coupons for partner shops, and fans can participate by taking photos with the mascots and sharing them on social media, he said.
