UKSA Sponsorship Case File 4: Mass Participation Events

The best-known events, such as the London Marathon, often attract top athletes – another element that can be leveraged in several ways. In brand image terms, mass participation events hit a number of positive notes. Usually based around sport, they suggest health and active living. Whether focused on fun family activities or aspirational athletes, they have the potential to build brand engagement.

The Charitable Angle

It’s rare to find a successful mass participation event that doesn't have a charitable dimension. Sometimes charities are the primary partner of the event – examples being Cancer Research UK’s relationship with Race for Life and breast cancer charity Walk The Walk’s MoonWalk. But even when they aren’t, there is generally a strong fund-raising element at work. For example, Virgin Money reckons that it has helped raise £407 million (including Gift Aid) via its online fundraising website since it joined forces with the London Marathon in 2010. In the same period, runners have raised over £315 million for charity. Over and above the life-changing impact of such activities, being associated with charitable giving is great for a brand’s image. For this reason, it’s logical for brands to share top billing with charities. Another example of this is IMG-organised The Color Run, which is presented by Skittles and has NSPCC as its charity partner.

High-Profile Partnerships

Aside from those events already mentioned, one of the best-known mass participation events is the Great North Run, which is actually part of a 14 race series that sees 200,000 runners compete annually across the UK. The Great Run Series was sponsored for 18 years by BUPA and then last year by Morrisons. In May 2016, it was announced that Duracell was coming on board as Official Partner for 2016. Alex Haslam, Duracell UK marketing manager, explained: “One of the key successes of the partnership is the strong and instantly understandable link between Duracell and running. The Great Run Series gives us a wide reaching platform to bring our brand messages to life to an engaged audience. With this campaign we'll be helping runners across the UK, from experienced marathoners to complete novices, unlock the power within.”

Another great example is the Red Bull-backed Wings for Life World Run, in which runners compete simultaneously around the world from 35 locations, running as far as they can before a moving finish line - the Catcher Car - overtakes them. Puma recently came on board as sponsor of the event, which raises funds for scientific research into spinal cord injuries. Adam Petrick, global marketing director at Puma, said: “The Wings for Life World Run is a perfect partnership for PUMA, bringing together two organisations with shared goals and values, encouraging participants to compete both by foot and wheelchair.  PUMA believes anyone who wants to compete should be able to do so, regardless of their gender, race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background or disability.”

Range Of Activities

Walking and running are common mass participation activities, but they are not the only ones. London Marathon Events (LME), best known for the London Marathon, recently launched Swim Serpentine, a two-day open water swimming festival located at the Serpentine. Around 6000 swimmers were given the chance to swim one mile in open water on the first day, while the second day featured the British Open Water Swimming Championships. LME also organises the Prudential Ride London festival of cycling. IMG’s portfolio of events includes the Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon and London Triathlon while the organisers of the Great North Run also have a Great North Swimrun event. In addition to this, there is a growing market in obstacle courses, such as the Tough Mudder series of events. Brands that back the latter franchise include Merrell, Jeep, Bosch and Volvic. Also active in this sector is the Reebok Spartan series of races.

Inclusion

As some of the above example shows, there is scope for most mass participation events to encourage inclusion. In addition, there are events where inclusion and diversity are a core part of the proposition. One is Parallel London, which calls itself “the first fully accessible and all-inclusive mass participation push/run event”. Launched this year, thousands of people participated in a range of challenges. Over 40% of participants had a disability, supported by over 500 carers. Parallel London’s Andrew Douglass said: “Parallel London is a welcoming and accessible environment for people of all ages and abilities, allowing everybody to be independent and active. That is the spirit of Parallel London and I hope it shines a light on the beauty of diversity and potential of an inclusive society.”

Also promoting diversity is the Brighton and Hove Triathlon, which recently announced the first UK Rainbow triathlon, to celebrate the diverse culture in Brighton and promote triathlon as a fully inclusive sport. The Brighton and Hove Triathlon already provides the opportunity to race in a ‘Women Only wave’ for women who feel more comfortable racing alongside other likeminded women. A new Rainbow Wave provides an opportunity for people to race, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, in a city with a diversity and LGBT heritage.

Business Benefits

Positive PR/Media Coverage: As mentioned at the outset, mass participation events are a PR goldmine. If they involve elite athletes, it’s possible they will generate live event coverage from major broadcasters. But even if they don’t, there are usually enough human interest stories to achieve nationwide PR. An added bonus is the local PR that is generated by the non-elite competitors – either around their fundraising or the challenges they’ve overcome to take part.

Staff Engagement

For big brands, mass events are a golden opportunity to get staff involved. One interesting example of this is the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, which sees 1000 city workers race in teams against each other. The concept started in London in 2007 and has since expanded to seven countries. Explaining the importance of this kind of event, Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg says it “embodies the importance of collaboration and speed in business and it's great to see so many of our customers, employees and industry peers running alongside each other for their chosen charities.”

Tata Consulting Services (TCS) is another company that has got heavily involved in mass participation running events such as the New York and London Marathons. One benefit of this is that it has been used to support TCS’s internal Fit4Life programme among their 325,000 employees, making running and fitness a major part of the wellbeing plan for TCS staff.

Experiential Activity

With so many participants and spectators, sponsors have an opportunity to showcase their products and services – in the same way they might do with a summer music festival. One example of how to do this came from Hyundai, a sponsor of the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. As part of its sponsorship package, Hyundai led the race from the front  with its zero emissions ix35 Fuel Cell – a hydrogen-powered car that emits nothing but water vapour. Tony Whitehorn, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor UK, said: “Our partnership with The Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon is a fantastic opportunity for Hyundai to demonstrate the eco-credentials of our fuel cell vehicle.”

In another example, Sony joined obstacle challenge Tough Mudder as official smartphone and SmartWear sponsor in 2015. As part of the deal, Sony Xperia Z3 handsets were placed around the course, documenting participant journeys from start to finish. Using TimeShift Video and TimeShift Burst features, participants were able to relive their highs and lows in slow motion at the Tough Mudder after party, Après Mud.

Rights Costs Are Lower

Clearly, high-profile mass participation events are not cheap to sponsor. But as a general rule the sector offers cost effective opportunities when compared to sports sponsorships in fields like football, rugby and F1. There is also more flexibility to come up with creative or bespoke activation idea than with some well-established sports events.

Corporate Hospitality

Any event can provide a platform for corporate hospitality. The difference with mass participation events is that they can be used as a way to get corporate clients involved. This doesn’t necessarily mean dragging CEOs across heavy duty assault courses, but there are ways of encouraging bonding through shared physical activity – and then going for something to eat and drink afterwards as a reward.

Business Challenges

Logistics

As with any major event, logistics and security are critical to the success of mass participation activities. Running a shambolic event where people are not well looked after is a potential PR disaster. But the good news is that there are several companies that are experts in managing such events including IMG and Limelight Sports. Limelight Sports events include the Sainsburys’ Sport Relief Mile, Sky Ride, Swimathon and afore-mentioned Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon.

Environmental Awareness

It’s a minimum requirement with events like these that organisers and sponsors pay attention to issues such as sustainability and clean up. One best practice example is the Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon. Richard Cooper, corporate partnerships manager at RPF, says: “The Royal Parks Half was launched in 2008 with the key objective of being as sustainable as possible. We aim to make race day as green and sustainable as possible and 66% of all waste from the event is recycled and now avoids landfill sites.”

Multi-sponsor Involvement: Echoing a wider trend in sponsorship, rights holders in mass participation events like to attract more than one sponsor. Lucozade Sport, for example, is the official sports drink partner of the Virgin Money London Marathon. And Sanex Men is the official skin care partner of the Great Run Series’ 14 running events (a platform which allows it to provide over 200,000 samples of a new shower gel range to runners and spectators). There is nothing inherently wrong with this multi-sponsor set up – and it can actually be an advantage. But it does require rights holders and sponsors to make sure that brands are given the right level of prominence as well as opportunities to activate against acquired rights.

Amplification Strategies

Celebrity Involvement

rands that want to make their mark in the mass participation sector can cut through by getting a celebrity involved. For example, health/life insurance firm Vitality recently announced it is working with Olympic gold medal winner Jessica Ennis-Hill on VitalityMove, two events that combine running and music to encourage people to take steps towards a healthy lifestyle. The events, scheduled for July and September 2017, will play host to a range of running-based activities for families, beginners and runners. All of the runs will take place alongside music developed by DJ Trevor Nelson. The event’s official charity will be Diabetes UK while Nuffield Health will support participants with advice. VitalityMove will be delivered by mass participation specialists Human Race Events (recently acquired by Amaury Sport Organisation – ASO).

Harnessing The Build Up

The planning of major mass participation events is a year round activity – which means there is 24/7 opportunity for brands to market themselves and to have a two-way conversation with participants and fans. Social media is filled with stories about people training for events and raising money. There is also an afterglow effect as people post their experiences and memories on online forums. If brands pitch it right, they can join in with this conversation. They may also be able to build up a useful bank of data.

Great Backdrops  

Referring back to the PR point made above, attractive or innovative venues can boost the exposure of an event and its sponsors. IMG, for example, organises the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. Showcasing the beauty of San Francisco, triathletes embark on a gruelling 1.5 mile swim from Alcatraz Island to the shoreline of Marina Green, an 18 mile twisting bike ride through the Presidio, and an eight mile trail run out to Baker Beach and up the 400-plus step Sand Ladder.

Related Activities

It’s increasingly common for mass participation events to have entertainment activities running alongside them – turning the event into a party or festival. One interesting event is Sure Run to the Beat, a 10km event held at Wembley Stadium, which integrates live music into its race activities. The point about this kind of activity is that it encourages a broader demographic to get involved.

The UK Sponsorship Awards is introducing a Mass Participation Event category for the first time in 2017. For companies interested in entering, click here for more details.