New Yorkers take on the Asics challenge

Joss Davidge, managing partner of brand experience agency BEcause, continues his weekly quest for great marketing ideas. This week he looks at how Asics got people talking by giving New Yorkers a taste of the marathon experience.
 
Sporting endurance events are more popular than ever before. Millions of people every year participate in traditional marathons, half marathons, fun runs and extreme challenges in order to push themselves, raise money for charity and peacock themselves online.

This offers a ripe opportunity for a multitude of brands to engage with a mass audience, not just those who take part, but, due to increased awareness and interest, the spectators, family members and those who aspire to take part in the future. To stand out from the crowd and really get noticed, we are seeing more and more brands turn to experiential marketing.

This week I’ve come across this nice activation from sports brand Asics that champions the formidable talent of long distance runner Ryan Hall, and, of course, how its products support him. In the run up to the New York Marathon, Asics challenged New Yorkers to keep pace with Ryan Hall with a simple but effective experience. A treadmill was placed on the back of a small truck, and people were given the opportunity to pound away at Hall’s staggering 12.6mph average race pace at the 2011 Boston Marathon. They were attached to a harness so that when it got too much they could simply give up – the record for a participant staying upright was a mere 8 minutes and 6 seconds.



The idea of giving people a chance to experience Hall’s pace is very simple, but it was bound to have an effect on participants. I also like the challenge element, drawing people to push themselves – the very essence of marathon running. This tactic has been used before by Asics in the run up to the 2011 New York Marathon.



Read more from Joss Davidge.