Phuket Post :: Article :: Brands! Events! Action!

On the boardwalk at the Royal Phuket Marina, with the Phuket International Marine Expo., for a backdrop, I am meeting Paul Poole for the first time. His name has been synonymous with the majority of international events on the island this year, but as he clarifies feelingly, �never in front of the event. Always behind. It is the event that we want to showcase, not Paul Poole the company.

So as much as it's possible to keep such a vibrantly enthusiastic personality in the back, Paul and his team work on each event, behind-the-scenes, bringing organisers and sponsors together and making sure that everyone comes away with the most benefit.

Paul has a deep and sound grounding in the world of brand promotion. From Brand Marketing Manager for Levi Strauss (UK), to Europe Launch Coordinator for Polo Ralph Lauren jeans to Marketing Communications Director for Diesel (UK), Paul's CV read like the who's-who of the top brand Fashion industry. Indeed, as Paul confides wryly, he chose to leave the brand industry because: �I didn't want to be an old man working in Fashion!�

A brief foray into Pubic Relations, again working with the top-guns of the industry � an Edleman and later a WPP company � and the Englishman decided that PR was just not his cup of tea...there were simply no crumpets to go with. �I found that in PR, I met with brands at the start of the relationship, or whenever there was a problem. Never in between.�

And so Paul decided to go it alone, and in Thailand at that. Pioneering the sort of work he does in the region, which we will dwell on presently, Paul also started his life here uniquely in the sense that he met his wife, who �happens to be Thai�, not in Thailand, but back in London, where she was completing a Phd in the Fine Arts.

They moved to Thailand after they married. �My wife asked me if I was sure I wanted to move, and warned me it would be very different from holidaying here. I had no idea how different!� Paul exclaims.

So the Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co. Ltd, came into being, and based out of Bangkok, it comprises a deliberately small team of 10 people. �I have no intention of expanding our team,� says Paul, categorically. �I am personally behind all the events we work with, and that is the way we want to stay. So we are looking to do fewer events, but quality events.�

And what Paul does, in essence, is coordinate optimum sponsorship opportunities for organisers and brands. Working on two levels, Paul sets out to maximise the benefits of both the event owners and the sponsors.

It's all actually more scientific than you would think, and not just a matter of putting a random number on a spot, he explains. Paul uses what he refers to as a Sponsorship Assessment Matrix based on a very precise system to calculate the net worth of various sponsorship opportunities for an event. He then packages the various opportunities at what they are worth to a potential sponsor.

Then he sets about finding complimentary brands that wouldn't be in conflict with the event (for an event like PIMEX, for example, Paul would not engage a sponsor that would be displaying their own products, as this may take away from the main event), and further assesses how best these brands could profit from sponsoring the event.

Working the other way around, Paul also acts as a consultancy for brands, identifying sponsorship opportunities that could help them achieve their targets; which may not necessarily be financial. Exposure, direct contact with customers, and sales, the objectives for sponsorships may and do vary. The trick is to find the right event to sponsor and then, the right way to go about it.

There is a lot to be gained from this relationship, Paul insists and rues the fact that a lot of sponsorships in the region, unlike Europe, are emotional decisions rather than strategic ones. �Sponsors will sign up on an event simply because it's being run by friend, for example. It's a tremendous waste of opportunity.�

�Of course, there are charitable events for which sponsorships are donations rather than ventures, but in other cases, there is so much that can be achieved for both sides that is lost in sloppy sponsorship deals.�

Indeed, Paul insists his biggest threat comes not from good competition, but bad competition, where events are poorly promoted and sponsors are poorly showcased.

�There has to be a synergy, and both sides should get from the venture what they seek. Advertising on television is rapidly becoming redundant, with facilities for recording programmes allowing people to skip adverts altogether, and anyway, more than ever, people are now out there doing things, participating in events, not glued to their tellies.

�Experiential Marketing, that's a hugely successful tool. Brands are taking advantage of their direct contact with customers. At the Koh Samui Regatta, Land Rover brought in their cars, and people could actually drive them over a mountain to test them,� he enthuses. �That's reaching out in a big way. And what's more, this way, you can target your exact niche of customers.�

That's what Paul enjoys most about his business. �When it's a win-win situation for every side. When the event is a runaway success, and the sponsors have got what they are looking for. That's a great feeling. In a short span of time, three years only, we would like to believe that we have earned a reputation for creating just those kind of partnerships.� Judging from the impressive list of events, that seems like a fair claim. On Phuket itself, Paul Poole is connected with the Laguna Phuket International Marathon, Six Senses Phuket Raceweek, Laguna Phuket Triathlon, the Phuket Thailand Open - Swatch FiVB Beach Volley World Tour and of course PIMEX.

Based in Bangkok, the team operates around Thailand plans to expand into the South East Asian region, but Paul does emphasise that Phuket has an edge over the other locations. �There are more international events happening in Phuket than anywhere else in Thailand, besides Bangkok. Phuket has better infrastructure, and as a destination, it is simply superb.

�Working in Thailand is challenging,� Paul notes. �It's so different here.� So much so, that Paul even has a staff member who acts exclusively � and vitally � as a cultural advisor.

�It's important to respect the country that you live in and work in,� Paul points out. �You must work within the parameters. You would never break the codes in your own country, so why would you do it where you're a visitor!�

Personally too, Paul has immersed himself into the real Thai setting. He lives with his artist wife, in a very Thai community in the heart of Bangkok, where, �after three years, my neighbours are only just beginning to speak to me!

�They see so many foreigners come and go, and so pay very little attention to them. Finally, they are beginning to believe that I am here to stay, and are warming up to me,� he smiles, reassured.