Yachting sponsorship in Thailand – an opportunity

Photo: Scott Murray

For the first time ever, 2022 saw yachting feature in Thailand’s Sponsorship Platforms Top 10, according to the Asia Sponsorship News (ASN) Thailand Market Analysis 2023.

Standing in ninth place, with a spend of US$1.9 million (1.2% of Thailand’s total sport sponsorship), was both an encouraging sign and a call to action to rights holders to build on this achievement. After all, yachting worldwide attracts multi-million dollar sponsorships from the likes of Rolex, Volvo, Panerai and Emirates to name a few. Yet, notwithstanding its Top 10 spot, yachting in Thailand struggles to attract and/or keep major monetary sponsors.

The yachting event landscape, incorporating both yacht racing events (regattas) and boat shows, has changed noticeably in recent years, especially so since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thailand’s longest running boat show, Phuket International Marine Expo (PIMEX), which ran from 2003 to 2017, was eclipsed by the Phuket-based Thailand Yacht Show (TYS), which ran between 2016 and 2020 – but seems to have missed its comeback opportunity in 2022/23 – while 2023 saw the inaugural Thailand International Boat Show (TIBS) in Phuket. Ocean Marina’s Pattaya Boat Show (OMPBS) was replaced by the all-new Thailand Yacht Show (Pattaya) in 2022 but it looks unlikely to run again.

On the yacht racing scene, the country’s bigger regattas (those usually seeing 30+ entries) have suffered badly. The biggest of all, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta (PKCR), accustomed to racing start lines featuring 100 yachts, hosted just 17 non-dinghy entries in December 2022. Phuket Raceweek (PRW), regularly enjoying entries in the high 30s, did well with 20 yachts in July 2022, but has cancelled the 2023 event. The Bay Regatta (TBR), once forced by its popularity to limit entries to 50, welcomed 16 yachts in February 2023, while Samui Regatta (SR), the darling of the big racing yachts out of Hong Kong, was down to just four entries in May 2023. Pattaya’s Top of the Gulf Regatta (TOGR) held its last event in 2019 due to declining numbers.

So, while event organisers and rights holders work out how to revive (or, in the case of new events, establish) their brands, perhaps now is the time for them to revisit how they think of, and approach, the question of sponsors and sponsorship. Unfortunately, yachting event rights holders in Thailand have traditionally tended to view sponsors and their money as something that “gets in the way” of the event and its participants; consequently they resentfully do the bare minimum to “keep the sponsors happy”, expecting them to be there, cash in hand, next year. They are usually disappointed.

The reality that yachting rights holders must acknowledge is that, as Marine Business World editor, Jeni Bone, wrote in a 2013 article for Sail-World.com, “Sailing and sponsorship – you can’t have one without the other.”

“Sponsorship isn’t free money,” says Paul Poole of The Sponsorship Experts Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co Ltd (PP(SEA)CL), adding that, while dedicated effort is essential to ensure sponsors get the ROI they are looking for, “organisers should see sponsorship in a positive light – something that enables them to host better quality and more sustainable events and even to engage with their local community in a more meaningful way.”

Where to start? The first thing rights holders must recognise is that – like every other aspect of marketing – the search for, and management of, sponsors must be approached professionally. According to The Sponsorship Playbook, produced by PP(SEA)CL, there are three distinct phases to consider: Packaging & Pricing Sponsorship; Identifying & Sourcing Sponsors; and Managing Sponsors. These phases deal with such essentials as identifying and evaluating the rights on offer, then structuring them at various sponsorship levels, setting sales objectives, developing target lists and approaching targets and – critically – sponsorship activation or leveraging the sponsorship.

It is in the latter area that so many sponsors get it wrong – and never return because the sponsorship “didn’t work for them”. “Activation is the carrying out of marketing and promotional activity as part of a sponsorship i.e. ‘bringing the sponsorship to life’ through a variety of planned activities,” says Paul Poole. According to a recent industry survey, sponsorship decision-makers budget on average US$2.20 for activation for every US$1.00 they spend on rights fees.

As Southeast Asia’s market leader, PP(SEA)CL has worked with several of Thailand’s yachting event rights holders, including (boat shows): PIMEX, TYS, OMPBS, TIBS and (regattas): PRW, SR, TBR, TOGR. As a direct result of PP(SEA)CL’s engagement by the rights holders, these events enjoyed successful sponsorships with (government): Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and (private sector): Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Mount Gay Rum (MGR), Rodenstock and Franke – among others.

To illustrate what can be achieved with professional, well-planned activation, it is worth taking a look at how JLR leveraged their two-year sponsorship of PRW, using it as the platform to launch the 5.0 V8 powered XFR and XKR in 2009 and the All New XJ in 2010 into the Asia-Pacific marketplace. Their activation plan included yacht branding and significant VIP hospitality as well as on-road and track driving experiences under test conditions with expert instruction. A dedicated team was formed to make this happen.

In 2009 JLR realised a 6:1 return on investment in terms of sales of cars as a result of orders taken at PRW. This grew to 12:1 in 2010 making the sponsorship a very cost effective business decision with a tangible result.

Today, a business’s environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) credentials are important and yachting is well-positioned to provide a platform for activation compatible with ESG imperatives. At the same time, enlightened HR leaders could find value in the team-building opportunities presented by getting directly involved in sponsoring (and crewing) a racing yacht as part of their activation.

Addressing one of the concerns voiced both by holders of prestigious rights seeking sponsors and prominent brands looking for events to sponsor, Paul Poole said, “‘Brand clean’ is a concept that can work for top shelf events and brands. A title or presenting sponsor can find it worth acquiring all the rights to an event in return for being the only brand associated with it, while rights holders don’t feel their event is sinking under the weight of myriad sponsors’ logos.”

Is now the time that Thailand’s yachting event rights holders will grasp the opportunity of ‘rebirth’ to embrace a professional approach to sponsorship acquisition and management and, in so doing, raise the perception of their events as major players in their field?

For more information, visit: www.asiasponsorshipnews.com, info@asiasponsorshipnews.com, www.paulpoole.co.th, info@paulpoole.co.th.

Original story from the Phuket News.