Sponsorship in Asia post-Covid

Asia’s sponsorship industry is experiencing a resurgence post-pandemic.

Royal Phuket Marina

Asia’s sponsorship industry is experiencing a resurgence post-pandemic, and nobody is better placed to capitalise on that trend than The Sponsorship Experts, Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd. (PP(SEA)CL).

Paul and his team connect events with sponsors and brands with events – and steer them through the whole process of sponsorship towards a successful outcome for both.

A key PP(SEA)CL objective is to increase the commercial value of the properties they represent by developing professional sponsorship packages, by sourcing ‘best brand name/fit’ commercial sponsors and by ensuring ROI and ROO for their clients, sponsors and partners.

Furthermore, Paul strongly believes that – by effectively leveraging the power of sponsorship – rights holders and brands can organise and host better quality and more sustainable events, and engage with the local community in a more meaningful way.

Fundamental to PP(SEA)CL’s ability to offer expert advice is Paul’s commitment to evidence-based decision-making, proper evaluation of sponsorship ‘assets’, media and sponsorship benchmarking and use of market intelligence on the latest trends shaping the industry. PP(SEA)CL is a member of the Asian Sponsorship Association and includes PerforMind® – a scientific approach to selecting sponsorship criteria and sourcing a sponsorship that is best for each client’s needs – in its professional ‘tool kit’.

As a measure of its impact, PP(SEA)CL delivers over one billion Thai baht in sponsorship across, on average, 58 properties each year. Clients include luxury water-based lifestyle events such as Kata Rocks Superyacht Rendezvous, Kata Rocks Poker Run and Thailand International Boat Show – events that bring valuable revenue to Thai tourism, support local communities and promote a healthier, more active, lifestyle.

For individual athletes, they use Sportskred to create unique sponsorship and influencer marketing campaigns. Sportskred combines social media accounts of athletes and brand ambassadors to create a highly valuable private network for marketing and sponsorship needs. By tapping into several social media accounts at once, the network aggregates following and engagement and has the potential to reach far more people in an engaging manner.

At government level, PP(SEA)CL are special advisors to – and have developed benchmarking tools and conducted bespoke training workshops for – the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT).

On the future, Paul says, “We intend to continue our pre-pandemic trajectory to double in size through acquisition and our own growth.”

True to his word, September saw PP(SEA)CL acquire Singapore-based Asia Sponsorship News (ASN) – the leading market intelligence service for Asia’s sponsorship industry – and relocate its base to Phuket.

Although a subsidiary of PP(SEA)CL, ASN will be run independently under the direction of Managing Director (former Business Development Director) James Hamshire, who said, “This acquisition comes at a time when the sponsorship industry is resurging in Asia. We are confident of the continued success of ASN as an utterly independent provider of intelligence for those in the sports, media, and entertainment space in Asia.”

Founded in Singapore in 2007 by Ben Heyhoe Flint, ASN operates on a subscription-based model where subscribers gain access to the latest news, analytics, and insights from the biggest players in the sponsorship industry. Over the years ASN has worked with the leading names in sports, media and entertainment across the buy-side, agency, and sell-side.

“ASN has been a monumental force in the sponsorship industry in Asia in the past 15 years, providing invaluable insights to all of us working in this space. We are committed to continuing that important work and to remaining an important independent player in an ever-changing industry,” said Paul.

According to Ben, ASN was created by media professionals with collectively decades of experience who were frustrated that there was a black hole of data and insight relating to this poorly understood but fast-growing $10 billion channel. “We are extremely excited to start this new chapter under the ownership of PP(SEA)CL. Paul has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to the sponsorship industry and we could not have found a better path forward,” he said.