Why LEDs are lighting up Myanmar

The demand for light-emitting diode (LED) advertising boards is growing rapidly, largely fuelled by Myanmar’s strong economic growth.

Most advertising companies are switching to LED lights or LED TV screens to promote their businesses. (Staff/The Myanmar Times)

More advertisers and business operators are using LED screens as a powerful advertising tool because they attract more eyeballs and effectively convey information to consumers.

Inroads are being made even though traditional media like print (dailies, journals and magazines), and broadcast platforms (radio and TV) are still vying for a piece of the advertising pie.

“Sales are up. These days, advertising companies in Yangon use LED boards and lights and they use large embossed wordings. Most have begun to use LED TV screens. Along with the development in technology, TV screens now stream live programs,” says Famous LED’s distribution manager Ma Tharaphy.

There are reasons for the spurt in the new digital advertising trend, which is fast replacing the old-fashioned signboards.

Myanmar’s economy is robust, with its gross domestic product growing at about 8 percent this year, easily surpassing even bigger Southeast Asian economies like Singapore and Malaysia.

In Yangon, companies are switching to LED lights or LED TV screens to promote their businesses – from gas stations to banks to merchandisers and even to construction firms.

An advantage of an LED board is that it can be easily installed in shops – and they are becoming less expensive.

Ko Wai Lin, owner of Milestone electronics shop, says LEDs are being used in designing logos, decorating artwork frames, gold and jewellery advertisements, and signboards for industries.

LED products mainly come from countries like China, Italy and Japan, although consumers here prefer China-made products, according to electronic goods suppliers. Italian and Japanese LEDs are of better quality but their prices could be three times higher than Chinese products, Ko Wai Lin said.

Chinese LEDs could be both of high and low quality, and most local importers only bring in Chinese products which come with a six-month warranty, he added.

Prices vary according to brand and type of product. The cost of a 36-inch TV screen ranges from K1.8 million to K3 million, according to Ma Tharaphy.

As the monsoon season is fast approaching, Ko Wai Lin also had useful tips for those using LED products.

Since LEDs are an electronic item, it is better to use a circuit-breaker to avoid electric shocks, he said. “Even though products are kept in the rain, there wouldn’t be any problem unless the cable has some kind of defect.”

He also warned consumers that if a bulb in an LED TV is damaged, this could produce a cumulative effect, and therefore, it should be repaired quickly.

Translation by Kyawt Darly Lin