Phuket Raceweek Snares Jaguar

Luxury car makers will go to the ends of the earth to find new buyers these days -- in this case Phuket. It was announced today that Jaguar will continue as a major co-sponsor of Six Senses Phuket Raceweek.

Now in its seventh year, Six Senses Phuket Raceweek is the first regatta in the 2010/2011 Asian Yachting Grand Prix Championship, combining four days of yacht racing with five nights of parties. The 2010 regatta will be held from 21 to 25 July off the southeast coast of Phuket, Thailand.

SportsProMedia reports that Jaguar will spend more than US$200,000 on the sponsorship and activation, with Six Senses Resort & Spa topping that figure.

“There’s no question that both Six Senses’ and Jaguar’s continued support is down to the success of last year’s event for each of them,” said Grenville Fordham, Managing Director of SSPRW organisers and rights owners, Image Asia Events Co., Ltd.

With the exception of 2009, SSPRW has seen the number of entries grow each year and the organisers anticipate a record fleet for the 2010 event. “In 2008 we welcomed 43 yachts from all over the region; last year we suffered a ‘global meltdown blip’, and were down to 33 yachts – but the standard of the fleet was much more competitive than in previous years,” said Fordham.

Jaguar Overseas Operations Director, Mick Razza, said, “In our inaugural year as co-sponsor in 2009 we saw a remarkable rise in sales off the back of our experiential marketing at Six Senses Phuket Raceweek. We deal with marketing strategies worldwide and with Paul Poole (South East Asia) Co., Ltd. we saw a first class 360° campaign that rivals the best platforms we have used in the past."

SSPRW 2010 is the platform for Jaguar’s regional launch of the stunning, all-new Jaguar XJ range – with VIP guests invited from throughout Southeast Asia to experience both the regatta and the new XJ.

Already confirmed to join Six Senses and Jaguar in the sponsorship lineup for this year are (returning) Tourism Authority of Thailand, Andaman Cabriolet, Asia-Pacific Boating, MyPhuketInfo.com and (first time) Urbane Nomads, Gybe and Movenpick.

“The continuation of Jaguar as a co-sponsor in 2010 sends out a very positive sign of the importance of strategic alliances with Asia’s top sporting events,” said Paul Poole, Managing Director of Paul Poole Co., Ltd., whose company has been appointed by Jaguar to manage and maximise Jaguar’s co-sponsorship of the event and their supporting experiential marketing activity.

Asked if the regatta is more about the sponsors than the sailors, Fordham responded, “At this stage in our planning, sponsorship marketing is the key to a successful event. But nobody should doubt that our main focus as regatta organizers is to run several days of superb yacht racing in Phuket in July.”

photo credit: phuketraceweek.com