MCA-GC Graduate Student Wins Major Award at MAAT Media Awards 2025
Congratulations to K.Tan Komchan Suksree, a master's degree student in the Communication Arts in Global Communication program at the School of Communication Arts, who was part of the Initiate Thailand team that won prestigious awards at the MAAT Media Awards 2025
This year, Initiate Thailand submitted work amidst fierce competition from leading agencies across Thailand. Out of 350 total entries, the company made it to the finals with 18 works and brought home awards including: 1 Grand Prize (the highest award of the year with only one winner), 6 Gold awards (the highest level in each category), and 7 Silver awards (runner-up level).
"Bucket Ware" - The Grand Prize-Winning Campaign
K.Tan described the standout and most successful campaign of the year: KFC's "Bucket Ware" campaign during Mother's Day. This campaign not only won the Grand Prize but also received awards in multiple categories. "The campaign concept came from a deep understanding of Thai behavior, especially Thai mothers' tendency to collect and keep things. KFC transformed ordinary disposable paper chicken buckets into quality containers that could be reused, addressing both consumer needs and environmental responsibility."
The Significance of Media Agency of the Year Awards
MAAT Media Awards 2025 is a prestigious and respected competition in Thailand's media and marketing industry, focusing on media buying and creative media usage—from traditional media like billboards and television to new media such as social media, TikTok, Facebook, and various digital channels. The judging criteria include multiple dimensions: Creativity in media usage, Real Results that can be measured, Sales Growth, and Social Impact.
The awards are divided into 22 categories, each with Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Finalist recognition. Notably, not every category awards a Gold prize—only work that scores high enough and is truly groundbreaking, innovative, or a "first time ever" receives this highest honor.
Critical Role as Strategic Planner
As Strategic Planning Manager, K.Tan plays a vital role at the heart of creating successful campaigns, with key responsibilities including:
- Consumer Data Analysis - Research to understand target audience behavior, needs, and insights, such as discovering that Thai mothers like to keep containers, which became a key insight for the Bucket Ware campaign
- Communication Direction - Developing strategies for what to communicate, how, to whom, and when for maximum impact
- Collaboration with Media Planning Team - Coordinating with media planners to find the most suitable channels to reach target audiences, as communication is ineffective without knowing which channels to use
Working with global brands like KFC presents special challenges, requiring communication at both the local level (to reach Thai consumers) and global level (to present to international headquarters). Balancing these two dimensions is a crucial skill.
Education That Enhances Professional Work
The Master of Communication Arts in Global Communication at Bangkok University has been instrumental in building professional skills and capabilities, particularly in three key areas:
- Global Mindset and Local Context - Learning to view problems and opportunities from a broad perspective, not limited to local context, while deeply understanding cultural differences and contexts in each area essential for working with global brands
- Applicable Communication Theory - Understanding how to effectively convey messages to receivers. These theories aren't just textbook knowledge but can be immediately applied to solve real workplace problems
- Systematic Analysis and Problem-Solving - The theories learned help explain the causes of problems and propose solutions to teams with solid principles and credibility
K.Tan concluded: "It really helps a lot because it makes us understand the communication system better, especially when working with foreign companies that need to communicate with headquarters abroad. Having a Global Mindset and understanding Local Context is very important. These skills are extremely important in agency work, which is a field that constantly faces challenges, diverse clients, and new situations. Having a solid theoretical foundation helps you adapt and solve problems quickly and effectively."
