THE CHALLENGE
Eugene, Oregon — often dubbed "the running capital of the world" — announced it would host its first major destination marathon in more than 20 years. Further heightening the excitement was the fact that participants could even qualify for the Olympic trials and the Boston Marathon.
SUBWAY® restaurants, the leader in healthy fast food options and a global promoter of healthy choices, emerged as a perfect partner to enhance this much-anticipated event.
SUBWAY's challenge was to secure a key sponsorship role that would offer the opportunity to reinforce its advocacy for leading a healthier lifestyle and, further, support its community.
THE APPROACH
- Title sponsorship of the marathon for the best opportunities to promote healthy choices and recognize participants' commitment to an active lifestyle
- Title sponsorship of the Kids Fun Run to promote healthy habits to the young
THE WORK
- Event name: The SUBWAY Eugene Marathon
- Pre-, during and post-event press releases
- Local and regional newspaper ads
- Event program ads
- Promotion participation of SUBWAY spokesperson and weight loss champion, Jared Fogle, via radio station interviews; marathon Health Expo autograph signing and sampling of SUBWAY's new raisin snacks and apple slices; firing the starting gun for main marathon event; leading pre-run stretches for Kids Run; cheerleading and finish line greeting for marathon runners accompanied by 26.2 feet of SUBWAY sandwich as fuel for the finishers
- Event PSA announcements throughout the multi-day events
- Male and female first place finishers receive a year's worth of SUBWAY sandwiches
- SUBWAY inclusion on all race numbers, event t-shirts, banners and signage, event correspondence, media kits, ads, coupons, promotions materials and marathon website
THE RESULTS
Incredible runner community and Northwest community buzz fueled organizers predictions that Eugene's would be the best-attended inaugural marathon in the country in years. This marathon drew entries from 46 states, four Canadian provinces and seven countries, including more than 50 elite athletes shooting for Olympic trial times.
Participants relished the opportunity to run in the footsteps of legends such as Steve Prefontaine, Alberto Salazar and Mary Decker Slaney. More than 4,500 runners participated, unheard of for a first-year marathon.
Enthusiastic supporters at the finish line overheard runners thanking Jared Fogle and SUBWAY for supporting their passion and for helping make this first-time event possible.
SUBWAY received more than $30,000 in media publicity. While not solely attributable to promotion around the marathon, the regional SUBWAY restaurants' sales were up 3% in the weeks surrounding the event, notable when the competitive fast food industry is relatively flat.
