Northstar

Expert 16 MAR-APR 2020 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM M r Patee Sarasin started his career in advertising at Interpublic Group's Lintas Advertising in Bangkok. He then worked in television for NBC News in Washington DC before returning to Bangkok to work for SPA Advertising, Thailand's largest independent ad agency. Mr Patee then headed SPA's TV production department before becoming CEO of Bates Thailand when he was 30, making him one of the youngest CEOs in the industry. What was your early career like? I was running advertising agency Bates in Thailand. We won the Nok Air ad account in early 2004. The airline, which had yet to launch operations, was known as Sky Asia. It was part-owned by Thai Airways International but was to be run as a separate company. Bates was responsible for creating the new low-cost carrier brand, aircraft livery and advertising. I knew Piya Yodmani quite well, the Thai Airways International executive tasked with establishing the airline. Piya was in charge of airline operations but they needed a CEO who could really help to promote and build the airline, so I was installed as CEO just prior to the airline launching its operations. Marketing in Thailand is particularly important. When you visit Thailand, the first thing you will see when you take a taxi or train from the airport is the plethora of advertising. If you are in a car, you will see large outdoor billboards beside the road all the way into the city centre. Thailand is one of the most media saturated markets in the world. With so many brands competing for peoples' attention, you need to be a very savvy marketer to breakthrough the media clutter and build your brand. When I first joined the airline, I was very focused on building the brand and raising awareness for the airline. What spurred you to start Nok Air? I was quite happy running Bates Thailand because we had successfully built the agency. Bates Thailand's annual billings had grown to US$58 Patee Sarasin, CEO and founder of online travel agency Really Really Cool and the former CEO of Nok Air, shares an exclusive interview with Meetings & Conventions Asia. WORDS PATRICIA WEE Soaring high million in 2004 from US$4.5 million from when I first joined the agency in the mid-1990s. I joined Nok Air because the then chairman of Thai Airways International told me that if I helped the national carrier to launch into the low-cost carrier market, then I would be helping the country. Low-cost airlines made air travel more affordable for Thai people. My father, Arsa Sarasin, also spurred me on to join the airline, because he too felt that launching Nok Air into Thailand would help the country by bringing low-cost air travel to the masses. Nok Air helped to make air fares more affordable, so more people could fly to visit family and friends. There is also a very strong correlation between air services and economic development and improved living standards. What anecdotes can you share about your time there as CEO? • make sure your management team shares the same vision for the company and is working in line with that

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