An experiential high 5 at the Hamburg Marathon

Joss Davidge, Business Director of brand experience agency BEcause, continues his weekly quest for great marketing ideas. This week he spots a simple way to stand out in the crowd at the Hamburg Marathon.
 
For years brands have been setting up shop at large mass participation events such as marathons or festivals.

These events tend to supply a good selection of a specific identifiable audience, so cherry picking a marketing message that resonates well and delivering it effectively can be a great way to forge connections. 

But often the space is crowded and standing out involves more cunning than just shouting.
 
This week I spotted this great example of how simple, well-targeted experiential marketing can be used to create a connection between a brand and consumers at a large scale event.
 
German hand sanatiser brand Antiseptica saw the Hamburg Marathon as an opportunity to highlight one of its key concerns: that germs spread easily. Rather than investing in expensive media space, or attempting to shout louder than the multitude of brands who also saw the runners and spectators as a captive audience, Antiseptica deployed guerrilla tactics.  
 
The brand recruited a group of runners who sported gloves that had an ink-stamp attached to them. As the runners passed spectators and were offered a hand, for an encouraging high 5, the Antiseptica team were able to leave an inky imprint that read: “That’s exactly how nasty germs spread”.
 
Antiseptica Brand Ambassadors were then on hand to dish out samples of Antiseptica hand wipes so that unsuspecting spectators could use to rub the ink off after they had experienced the key message, quite literally, first-hand.  
 
This was a brilliant highly cost-effective and engaging way to drive home a simple message in order to lift sales and get people talking about the brand. Great work!
 
Read more from Joss Davidge in our Clubhouse.