GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 7 - January 2009

40 GPWA Times | N obody knows when the next risqué marketing idea for bookmaking gi- ant Paddy Power will take place. We do, however, have a pretty good idea as to where the concept will be generated. “Why, in the pub, of course,” laughs the affable Mr. Paddy Power himself, the 34- year-old head of communications for the company he shares a name with. “That’s where most of the good stuff comes from. It’s where everyone is relaxed and no idea is too silly. And I have always found that from the silly ideas, the great ones grow.” Now, we must caution that your defini- tion of a “great idea” may differ greatly from that of Paddy Power’s. For instance, if you’re offended by the concept of orga- nizing the world’s largest strip poker tour- nament, or find it appalling that a couple of Irishmen would literally set up shop in St. Peter’s Square to take wagers on who will be the successor to Pope John Paul II, you’re simply not the demographic that Paddy Power is focused on. “The whole point of all the crazy stuff we do is to make people laugh,” explains Mr. Power, who has worked in his family’s business since he was a young boy mark- ing the boards inside the betting shops spread around Ireland. “And usually when someone is laughing there’s someone else on the other side of the room that’s of- fended. That’s just the way of the world. And quite simply, those that are offended by our humor aren’t going to be our cus- tomers anyway.” Entertainers, not bookies Paddy Power has been both offending people and making them laugh for the bet- ter part of two decades. The company was founded in 1988 when three existing Irish bookmakers merged. Since that time the company has grown exponentially. There are currently 119 betting shops located across Ireland, Northern Ireland, and the U.K. It employs 1,700 people – with more than 160 of them working strictly on the online side of the business (not including IT support) – and in November it reported to shareholders that it was on track to re- cord operating profits of around €75 mil- lion in 2007, an increase from €45.5 mil- lion in 2006 and €30.1 million in 2005. And from the very start Paddy Power took on a brash, risk-taking personality. “The philosophy has always been that we don’t consider ourselves in the betting game, we consider ourselves in the en- tertainment game,” adds Mr. Power, who runs all the public relations and public- ity for the company from a head office in Dublin that employs 400 people. “And I think that’s one of the reasons for our suc- cess. As far as we’re concerned, if they can talk about it in the pub, they should be able to bet on it.” Cheeky Power April Fool’s Day 2006: Paddy Power sponsors the world’s biggest Strip Poker Tournament.