News Analysis: In with the sporting crowd

growth, making them one of the fastest-growing mass-participation sports
in the UK.

This trend presents attractive opportunities for brands. 'Sponsors see
these events as an uncluttered market,' says Nick Rusling, managing
director of mass-participation sports at IMG. 'By sponsoring the London
Triathlon and the British Triathlon Association, Mazda has made the
sport its own.'

According to Nigel Currie, director at sports agency brandRapport, such
events are also becoming more appealing to broadcasters, giving brands
an even wider audience. 'These sports are being given more time on
television as the editorial gets better,' he says. 'Technology and
fantastic pre-production have made the coverage exciting. For example,
broadcasters film background stories to slot into the footage.'

Last week, Virgin Group announced it was to take over the title
sponsorship of the London Marathon from 2010, in a £17m, five-year
deal. The tie will be led by Virgin Money, but the brand hopes to bring
its experience in running the V-Festival to bear on the event, giving it
a carnival atmosphere and staging music events around the race.

Participants' involvement in the Marathon begins when they register,
months before the event, giving brands the opportunity to create a
sustained dialogue. 'Flora turned the (London Marathon) into a
year-round experience. It ran promotions in the autumn in The Times,
launched a shorter women's run - the Flora Light Challenge - and ran
on-pack work,' says Currie.

Last week Nova International, the Great Run Series organiser, announced
plans to expand its event portfolio to include swimming, walking,
cycling, dance and in-gym competitions, creating a series of marketing
opportunities for brands (Marketing, 21 May). 'The marketing potential
is huge,' adds Currie. 'There will be merchandising opportunities and
plenty of scope for marketing direct to the customer.'

Positive partnerships

Expansion continues apace elsewhere, too. Run to the Beat, a
half-marathon and music festival in one, launches in London this year.
It has reached its capacity of more than 10,000 runners four months
before the event, despite taking place on the same day as the Great
North Run, in which more than 50,000 people will compete.

Run to the Beat brand partners include The O2, Evening Standard, Heart
106.2 and Women's Fitness magazine, as well as a title sponsor, which
has yet to be announced. 'The chance to associate with a positive,
healthy message is appealing to brands,' says Rusling. 'These events are
crucial to getting people fit. Not everyone wants to go to the gym.'

Mass-participation events are also prime opportunities for sampling
activity. Nokia is one brand to have put the creation of
mass-participation events, and sampling opportunities at existing
events, at the heart of its promotion of personalised GPS offering. It
currently sponsors the Windsor triathlon, and is planning its own
event.

Nike, meanwhile, has used the event category to boost sales of its Nike+
running aid. It operates the Run London and Nike Supersonic races and
this month unveiled the Nike+ Human Race, which will pit runners in 25
cities against one another by measuring their performances over 10km
using Nike+.

The attraction of mass-participation events is clear. Not only do the
events themselves act as an opportunity to increase brand awareness, but
the participants act as advocates beyond this, affording those that tap
into them a conduit to a wide audience.

DATA FILE - MASS-PARTICIPATION EVENTS



EVENT PARTICIPANTS* TITLE SPONSOR



Great North Run 50,000 BUPA

London Marathon 35,000 Flora (Virgin from 2010)

Nike+ Human Race 30,000 Nike

(in London)

London Triathlon 13,000 Mazda

Run to the Beat 10,000 To be confirmed

London Duathlon 3000 Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity



* Aprroximate number