adidas Manchester Marathon
Driving national buzz and visibility for the adidas Manchester Marathon
The adidas Manchester Marathon, known for its electric atmosphere and flat, ‘personal best potential’ course, briefed us to raise awareness of the event with a focus on driving regional buzz and national visibility.
To build on the success already achieved, event organisers Human Race required PR support to create noise around the second largest marathon in the UK and establish it as the ‘world’s friendliest marathon,’ an event accessible to everyone, whether a seasoned athlete or a first-time participant.
Strategy
We crafted a strategic calendar of news to release in phases and generate exposure and drive excitement leading up to the marathon itself.
From announcing the sustainable charity partner for 2024 and reporting on the environmental impact achieved from working together, a launch of an exclusively designed t-shirt for participants, to an ‘all you need to know’ press release ahead of event day.
Our media engagement programme focussed on carefully selecting newsworthy participant case studies to help us tell the stories of some of the brilliant 32,000 people taking part through interviews with broadcast, regional and national media outlets.
Results
We also leveraged our strong relationships to get journalists and influencers signed up to experience the magic of the adidas Manchester Marathon first-hand, providing in-depth write ups, or engaging pieces of social content in return.
On the day itself we managed a jam-packed interview schedule at the start and finish lines with those taking part, the incredible supporters on the sidelines and the CEO of the event organiser.
This ensured we created maximum buzz on the marathon weekend, driving a high share of voice and an ownable conversation on the days it mattered the most. Our coverage included pieces across 10 BBC channels including, BBC national news at six, BBC Northwest Tonight, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 and BBC Radio 5 Live.
+160
pieces of coverage secured
27
national features
4.3bn
unique monthly views across various media platforms
Sold Out
early bird registrations for the subsequent marathon sold out, with participation numbers doubling YoY