America’s oldest and most prestigious marathon, the Boston Marathon draws runners from well over 180 countries. A holiday here in Boston, there are many telling signs that it is Marathon Monday time. Enjoy some of the marketing around this years 115th running of the Boston Marathon!
New Balance
While New Balance is not an official sponsor of the Boston Marathon, the company has been calling the city home ince 1906 and always makes the most of the home field advantage (especially with prominence around the MBTA). This year’s campaign: “Let’s Make Excellent Happen.” With other compelling taglines that include “Excellent is Made in Boston,” “Excellent Loves Heartbreak,” “Excellent Makes Molehills Out of Newton Hills,” “Excellent Screams Through Wellesley” — what’s not to love?
The company cites an “exceptionally brutal” winter that created challenges for those training here in the Hub as inspiration for the campaign. They have a neat tool on their website, for example, where you can calculate your weather handicap compared to other cities. The company has also released limited edition running sneakers, the Boston 890. It also has limited edition Boston Marathon tees that make a perfect statement about the feat completing this Marathon truly is, nodding its head with pride to the towns the race touches and winds through.
Adidas
Although not a hometown hero like New Balance, for the 23rd year Adidas is the official footwear and apparel sponsor of the Boston Marathon. Their emblem is THE icon for Boston Marathon runners. They supply volunteers and media officials (thats over 12,000 in number) with exclusive jackets. This year the logo is screen printed on jackets, instead of embroidered, which has some runners up in arms with regard to its durability. Adidas seems to have claimed it was a supply chain error, and has repriced the product at $85.
Adidas is giving back to the Boston community this year with its Treadmill Challenge at City Hall Plaza, Hynes Convention Center and Faneuil Hall called the adiZero Charity Challenge. If you’re up for running for miles on stationary treadmills there to raise money for Boston Public Schools and other local causes, each mile run will result in Adidas donating $5 to the cause ($10 if you are crazy and want to run after midnight). On Friday 130 miles were counted, raising nearly $1500. And the first 26 people to run at all locations will win adiZero footwear. They also are crowdsourcing on their runner’s Facebook page “Game Faces,” where runners can upload their photos in a chance to be in their MTV Movie Awards commercial this June.
In 2009 Adidas extended its contract with the Boston Athletic Association so they can continue to sponsor the event through the B.A.A.’s 125th anniversary in 2013 and the 125th running of the Boston Marathon in 2021. So, expect to continue to see something fresh from them in the coming years here in Boston. Their taglines: “Boston with Love,” “Boston with Heart,” and “Boston with Pride.”
John Hancock
In Boston, warmer weather isn’t a sure sign of spring. What is: when you start to see John Hancock Boston Marathon banners on lightpoles. John Hancock is the primary, landmark sponsor and funder of the Boston Marathon. The company’s own tagline, “The Future is Yours,” aligns perfectly with driven runners pushing their hardest to the Finish Line. You see John Hancock’s logo everywhere in Boston, starting with the famous light pole flags depicting some of the most famous runners in the Boston Marathon.
Dana-Farber
The Boston Marathon is one of the most important fundraising times for Dana-Farber. The official charity program for the race since 1990, 550 runners will travel from Hopkinton to Boston on behalf of the cause. The Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) team consists of novice to experienced runners who are not necessarily time-qualified for the Boston Marathon. Every runner has been touched personally by cancer, and are dedicated to fight through the fundraising and training component of DFMC. 100% of funds raised go to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. In 2010, the DFMC team raised $4.4 million. Dana-Farber has set up an online store on Cafe Press to purchase their Boston Marathon logo’ed up gear — from doggy tees to baby bibs. We like their logo best — especially as a fake tattoo.
Other Sponsors
John Hancock, Adidas, and Dana-Farber are the three top sponsors of the 115th running of the Boston Marathon, But check out the creatives below from other sponsors. These include PowerBar (has sweepstakes and nutritional panel with professional runners dropping knowledge), JetBlue (the official airline, who ran an Extra Mile contest to provide 4 winners with round-trip tickets and hotel accommodations in Boston), and AT&T (providing the Athlete Alert Program so spectators can track individuals as they pass the 10k, half marathon, 30k, and finish line).
Narragansett
We couldn’t forget about Narragansett and their brilliant branding when thinking about the signs of Marathon Monday. This Rhode Island based brewery hosts the Boston Marathon Pre-Race Dinner on Sunday from 4:30-8pm at City Hall Plaza. For runners, tickets are enclosed with their official runner’s bib packet. For Narragansett, “It’s all about Boston this weekend,” with the Red Sox at home at the hugely popular Beer Summit also in town. They’ll be at all three. Check out their fun creative below, and expect to see a beer bottle top running the race this year.
What other signs of the Boston Marathon pop out to you around Boston? Let us know in the comments!
