Seminars hope to brand Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket PR Network is holding the first of four seminars on May 24 in the hope of creating a brand positioning message for Phuket.
Claire Connell
Monday 14 May 2012, 12:10PM
Event organiser Natasha Eldred, the managing director of Shine PR Phuket, says the idea of a marketing strategy and “brand” for Phuket has been floated for a number of years, but so far no successful branding had been done for the island.
She says many people expect the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to create the brand, but realistically the organisation is spread too thinly, and usually focused on other areas of Thailand with the idea that ‘Phuket takes care of itself.’
“The onus is on the private sector in Phuket, we are the ones with the vested interest,” Ms Eldred says.
“We are hoping to explore, research and distill Phuket’s many marketing messages, with the aim of creating a unified message for all Phuket businesses.”
The May event, titled ‘Identifying and Marketing Brand Phuket – Sports Tourism’ will be the first of four events held. The Sports Tourism seminar will be followed by Culture and Heritage (late July), Patong, and Real Estate as seminar topics in the coming months.
At the end of each event, volunteers will be invited to form a sub committee to summarise the main points and issues of each seminar. Once all events are completed, the sub committees will join together and hopefully nut out a brand idea for Phuket.
Then will come the need for funding and the creation of a marketing campaign, something Ms Eldred hopes the private sector of Phuket will be keen to get behind.
Speakers at the Sports Tourism event include Debbie Dionysius, Assistant Vice President of Destination Marketing at Laguna Phuket, who will discuss how the success of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, Marathon and Ironman 70.3 events have helped market Phuket to an international audience.
Next up will be Paul Poole, founder of The Sponsorship Experts, who will explain why sponsorship marketing is integral to the survival of events in Phuket.
Duncan Worthington, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta’s Media and Communications Director will discuss the prestige sailing events give Phuket.
Nick Seaver, CEO of Thanyapura,will then speak about how its efforts in branding itself as the most desirable sports centre in Southeast Asia can benefit Phuket, and help further the island’s brand positioning as a quality sports destination.
The May 24 event is held at The View at Thanyapura, followed by drinks at The Booster Bar. Registration opens at 3.30pm and the event begins at 4.30pm followed by networking drinks. Price: B150. For more information visit www.phuketprnetwork.com. To register your attendance email Sheree Tanpensuk at sheree@amchamthailand.com
Please note an earlier story said Thanyapura's Vice President David Roberts would be speaking.
