CASE STUDY
The Great Run Company
THE BRIEF
The Great Run Company, the UK’s leading provider of mass participation running events, hosts over 40 events across the country, from 5k to marathon distances, in addition to junior events and open water swims. We have been working with GRC since 2012, delivering high-impact regional and national coverage of their flagship London and Manchester events across broadcast, print and online platforms.
GRC’s ultimate aim is to get 1 million people actively engaged with the brand by 2020, and our task was to further this aim by positioning their events as ‘must attend’ events, in order to raise the overall profile of Great Run events across the UK.
Activity
Our strategy was to position the Great Newham London Run, the Great Team Relay, and the Great Manchester Run as ‘bucket list’ events for runners in London, the South East and Manchester, and promote them as family events.
A substantial programme of activity across highly-targeted national and regional media brands drove awareness and entries.
The Results
- In 2016 we delivered over 100 pieces of regional, national and online media coverage, including in notable outlets such as BBC, ITV, Global, and The Evening Standard.
- We also surpassed the entry targets for the Great Manchester Run and the Great Newham London Run event through creative PR, managed on-the-day media operations and athlete liaison.
- On Facebook we delivered an increase of 230% in organic impressions, and 216% increase in engagement in the two weeks leading up the event.
- A media partnership with News UK gave us a combined online and print coverage reach of 7.4 million people.
- Through this, we have been able to build and maintain a positive profile for GRC’s flagship events, which now consistently exceed their entry targets.
