FM 2023 complete (1) - Flipbook - Page 20
OtherSponsors
Here’s a footnote on other sponsor suppliers and
brand engagers at the London Marathon. I’ll refer to
my straw poll in this, 5 runners who participated in this
year’s marathon who I asked for brand recall.
•BuxtonWater–Theirpresencewasespecially
welcomed at the pre-race area where there can be a
delay and a need to stay hydrated. I didn’t notice their
Sweat and Tears Runners campaign on the day – a
shame as it documented how runners use the
marathon and its training schedule to combat mental
health. The campaign was focussed around a £100,000
donation from the brand to Mind. Straw poll 3/5 could
name the water supplier unprompted. 5/5 named
Buxton when asked who supplied the runner’s water.
•LucozadeSport–Thebrandextendsitssupportof
the event to help with training and prep programmes.
At the event the gel handouts can be especially
welcome for emergency energy boosts. Straw poll – 2/5
unprompted brand recalls and 4.5/5 when asked who
the energy supplier was, with the .5 being one who
thought High 5 were also involved.
•LondonPride-Iwasatthestartlinewithacouple
Reaching the Running Community
Paradoxically London may not be the best place
for a brand to make a long-term connection with
regular runners. The event is massive, and its
reach is huge, but many participants are not
regular club runners. To reach these regulars it
may be better to support several smaller scale
18
Summer 2023
events – case in point, Erdinger Alkoholfrei who
wrongly topped my unscientific straw poll as the
event beer.
A few years ago, the brand started pressing its
isotonic post run hydration into the eager hands
of huge pints of beer who were costume runners for
the brand. Post event evidence suggests that there was
also a band on a trailer on the course delivering pub
rock classics, but I went past it unaware. Straw poll – a
disappointing 1/5 could name the sponsor unprompted
rising to 2/5 when asked to name a beer from the
marathon. 2/5 thought Erdinger Alkoholfrei was the
likely beer sponsor but said if so, they had missed the
brand at the finish.
•Nissan-thelogisticsputinbyNissantotheevent
went unnoticed by my straw poll group with BMW
topping the ‘best guess’ at a car brand associated with
the marathon. The LGBTQ+ cheer
zones were spotted and
appreciated by the runners but no
connected to ‘powered by the
Nissan Leaf’ was made. Hopefully
for the brand the electric fleet it
supplies to London successfully
impacts the main beneficiaries of
it. It seemed to me that the
brand’s intriguing messaging and
its commitment to the
sustainability of the London
Marathon would have been solidly
appreciated by runners if a
stronger cut through had been
forged.
of race finisher at numerous events and the policy seems to be
paying off. It was recently added behind the bar by special
request at the Sports and Social Club, Chippenham, which is
surely a new high water/beermark for Erdinger.
My last free Erdinger came at this year’s Leeds Marathon where I
ran as a pineapple to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease
Association, making Leeds tropical with hula dance moves – and
making BBC Breakfast news in the process.