New York Road Runners Announces Three New Partners for the ING New York City Marathon 2010 and Unveils New Marketing Platform
New York, April 5, 2010—New York Road Runners has signed three new multi-year sponsors—Unilever, Nissan, and Tata Consultancy Services—for the ING New York City Marathon 2010, it was announced today by Ann Wells Crandall, New York Road Runners Senior Vice President of Business and Marketing.
“We are delighted to welcome three leading brands into the marathon family,” said Wells Crandall. “With seven months until race day, we are thrilled with the expansion into new categories of consumer packaged goods and consulting services and a giant in the automotive industry joining our already strong sponsor roster.”
From June 2009 until February 2010, New York Road Runners has signed new multi-year partners and renewed five long-term partners, including title sponsor ING through 2013. The expansion into two new partner categories in 2010—consumer packaged goods and consulting services—illustrates the marathon’s ability to attract new brands. The expanded reach and appeal of the marathon extends well beyond that of a sporting event and draws consumers into a lifestyle.
Highlights for new sponsor activation include:
UNILEVER: A first-ever consumer packaged goods sponsor, Unilever enters a two-year promotional partnership, which will feature Dove® for Men and Dove® for Women, Degree®, Vaseline®, and Axe®. This newly formed association with NYRR and the ING New York City Marathon exemplifies Unilever’s desire to align its brands with other organizations and businesses that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.
TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES (TCS): A global IT services and consulting company, TCS will serve as the official technology partner for the ING New York City Marathon. As part of their two-year program, TCS will provide guidance to NYRR on enhancing its IT capabilities for increased interactivity across its various digital properties, including the ING NYC Marathon website and registration and scoring databases.
NISSAN: As official automotive partner, Nissan will leverage the marathon to launch new products such as the LEAF electric car as well as to drive consumers to their website – www.MasterTheShift.com. Nissan will display vehicles on the course at “cheer zones” and provide the official vehicles on the course, at the expo, and throughout marathon week. Additionally, they will offer runners training tips from Nissan Master and Olympic marathoner Ryan Hall.
The I’m In. We’re In. marketing platform was developed to leverage the emotional connection everyone has to the ING New York City Marathon, whether as a runner, a spectator, a volunteer, or a casual fan. By tapping into their passion and excitement for the world’s greatest road race, New York Road Runners and partners will look to broaden the reach of the Marathon. This cohesive campaign targets a larger community and plays on the four key periods of the marathoner’s lifecycle: inspiration, anticipation, dedication, and celebration. The campaign engages the 40,000+ runners as well as the 100,000+ race applicants; 300,000+ community of families, friends and supporters; 2 million race day spectators; and a global audience of 1.6 billion through a comprehensive marketing campaign, including elements such as advertising, promotion, social media, events, licensing, and more.
“We developed an ongoing unifying marketing platform to engage our marketing partners as well runners and non-runners alike,” said Wells Crandall. “We want to broaden the reach of the marathon in a relevant and engaging way—one that goes beyond the marathoner to tap into the larger community of supporters—friends, families, fans, spectators, volunteers—and their emotional connection to the ING New York City Marathon.”
To launch the ING New York City Marathon 2010, New York Road Runners will broadcast the race’s lottery selection show for the first time ever on Wednesday, April 7, live at 12:00 noon EDT. The selection show will be aired at www.nyrr.org and will also include the announcement of the first man and woman for the November 7 race’s professional field.
About New York Road Runners
New York Road Runners is dedicated to promoting the sport of distance running, enhancing health and fitness for all, and responding to community needs. Our road races and other fitness programs draw upwards of 300,000 runners annually, and together with our magazine and website support and promote professional and recreational running. A staff of more than 100, assisted by thousands of volunteers, stages the ING New York City Marathon, as well as a road race nearly every weekend plus many track and cross country events. NYRR’s home base in New York, and its lifelong identification with Central Park, have given many of its events iconic status, attracting the world’s top professional runners. Our youth programs provide running to 75,000 schoolchildren in New York City, around the country, and
in South Africa who would otherwise have few or no fitness opportunities. For more information, visit www.nyrr.org.
About Unilever North America
Unilever works to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. Each day, around the world, we serve over two billion consumers. In the United States, Canada and the Greater Caribbean (Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, Blue Band, Breyers, Caress, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, Hellmann’s, Klondike, Knorr, Lipton, Omo, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Suave, Sunsilk and Vaseline. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America – generating nearly $10 billion in sales in 2009. For more information, visit: www.unileverusa.com, www.unilever.ca, or www.unilevercaribbean.com.
About Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, business solutions and outsourcing organization that delivers real results to global businesses, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT and IT-enabled services delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model, recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development. A part of the Tata Group, India’s largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 140,000 of the world’s best trained IT consultants in 42 countries. The company generated consolidated revenues of US $6 billion for fiscal year ended 31 March 2009 and is listed on the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange in India.
About Nissan
In North America, Nissan’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program 2010, whose key priorities are reducing CO2 emissions, cutting other emissions and increasing recycling. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com.
