Nate DeMercurio Portfolio

Excitement and anticipation is building for the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon, one of two major triathlons on the docket for this weekend (Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand). Essential to any race, large or small, is a course map showing athletes the path to the finish line. These can be as simple as drawings on a page or as creative and visual as what Abu Dhabi put together in the video below. Each distance - long course, short course, and sprint - is depicted with a line progressing along the swim, bike and run routes, through aid stations and on to the finish. The course "video" also allows for the inclusion of emotional elements with race video footage playing in the background throughout. Maps can be a selling point for an event to show athletes what it's all about - the race course. Videos like this certainly take resources to create, but are much better sales tools than a static line drawing. Is it worth it? Considering every athlete will (or sh...

Running USA released the annual State of the Sport Marathon Report over the weekend, detailing trends in the sport of running over the last year. It appears the amount of marathoners in the US continues to increase, however it has decelerated compared to previous years. Growth slowed from 8.6% in 2010 to 2.2% in 2011, however the 2011 total still reflects a record high in marathon finishers, as well as total US marathons run (estimated 720). Participation in the half marathon distance has grown substantially and may be causing, or at least taking advantage of, the slowed growth in the marathon distance. The emergence of alternative races (ex. Spartan Race, Warrior Dash, Mud Run) and the growth of other endurance sports (ex. triathlon) may also be impacting growth in the fight for athletes' time and money. The ING New York City Marathon remains the largest marathon, not only in the US, but around the world with 47,133 finishers in 2011 - an all-time record . The Bank of America...

Two events, the Denver Triathlon and the C Different Triathlon, announced earlier this week they would be offering "race reimbursement insurance" for athletes in 2012. They are the latest races to partner with 365Competitors, LLC, to provide athletes a guaranteed reimbursement if unable to compete due to injury or illness. The premise is fairly simple: events partner with 365Competitors for a fee tied to race registration and events pass along the cost and benefit to athletes of insuring their money. From the athlete point-of-view : This seems like a no-brainer, great idea. If athletes are going to shell out $85-$150 for a race, what's a few more dollars to insure they can take advantage of the experience or they get their money back? Paying $85 with the risk of losing $85, versus paying $95 with no risk of loss certainly seems appealing - athletes would be much less hesitant to register, even at a heightened cost, for a event that offers the opportunity to get a refund i...

Image: competitor.com Competitor Group, Inc. announced a unique pricing strategy only a few races have the ability, attraction and selection to offer: a season pass. Beginning March 1st, runners will be able to purchase a "TourPass" and run as many Rock 'n' Roll Series events as their legs will take them throughout the year (12 events, excluding Las Vegas). According to the release on competitor.com , approximately 4,000 runners ran three or more events in the Series last year. At $299 plus processing fee, a price break would take effect with the third race registration. It will be interesting to see how much, or if, this has any impact on registration revenue. Price breaks are nice, but at what point are they cannibalizing revenue that might otherwise be gained? If a runner registers for the TourPass and only runs two races, then Rock 'n' Roll actually makes money over that runner registering for two individual races. Hard to say how often that will happen, b...

Belgium triathlon apparel company endurance Junkie announced an incentive program for Ironman triathletes who could wind up with a free, branded race kit - if they're fast enough. The "Race & Cashback Offer" includes percentage rebates based on time thresholds for completing Ironman distance races. Athletes finishing under 11 hours get a 25% refund on their purchase, sub-10 hours is good for 50% back and those crossing the finish line under 9 hours "win" themselves a 100% refund. This is a interesting approach to consumer marketing, which essentially asks athletes to prove themselves for a discount. Will athletes shoot for a goal time only to get the refund? Doubtful. By tying the incentive to goal times people already aim to hit, it's merely a nice bonus; but this benefits endurance Junkie as they see athletes racing in their branded gear and the company generates good will by tying refunds and discounts to emotional accomplishments. This could also fi...

James Huang/BikeRadar It was announced last week that Pearl Izumi, and owning company Shimano, have opened an "Education Center" in Colorado as a showcase for reps. The center is located close to a bike park for easy access to demo products, allowing Pearl Izumi and Shimano to incorporate a hands on learning experience into clinics and sales meetings. The idea is to provide reps a richer and more valuable engagement with the products, as well as to use the facility in other capacities, like social events and presentations. Other outdoor brands have embraced this concept for years, such as The North Face, which has 11 showrooms around the country. It gives The North Face and their accounts the opportunity to connect with sales directors, RDD teams, marketing executives, etc., all in one place. "Our showrooms allow us to give our dealers the entire brand experience and to explain our seasonal initiatives in a much more effective way," said Aimee Hart, Specialty Sales ...

Two races this weekend (BI-LO Myrtle Beach Marathon and Livestrong Austin Marathon) provided runners and spectators a more convenient way to get information in the palm of their hands. As events begin to see value in having robust, content-heavy websites and a greater online presence through social media, the accessibility of this content and potential reach of sponsor exposure is driving additional outlets. And with the emergence of mobile smartphone applications, events can now provide more to athletes and brands alike. While still in the minority, several races have released apps that at a minimum allow people to view race information on their mobile devices, but even more so allow spectators to track athletes and races to increase sponsorship revenue by providing added value to partners. There is potential for smaller running races and triathlons to adopt the trend, ideally offsetting the cost to produce an app through incremental sponsorship revenue and other digital marketing tac...

Images: WTC, Daniel Norton On the surface, Lance Armstrong officially returning to competitive endurance sports via Ironman triathlon is intriguing and newsworthy. The impact he could potentially have on the sport, however, may go infinitely deeper with far-reaching implications. Ironman 70.3 Panama today was the first of the series to welcome Lance and his entourage (3,279,274 Twitter followers at the time this post was written) to this type of competition. How many of his followers knew about Ironman? How many knew about the 70.3 series? How many people knew there was a race this weekend in Panama? What is currently known is Lance plans to race four 70.3 races and Ironman France in attempt to qualify for Kona. Not yet known are the answers to the many questions arising from his move back to triathlon, including: What will be the media impact on the sport? Judging by the reported circus around 70.3 Panama, and the immense amount of social media conversation since the announcement, it...

Major races have major sponsors that contribute millions to their bottom lines. In turn, the sponsors determine how to best leverage that sponsorship to make it worth the value of the fee. Below are two recent examples of major sponsors promoting their association with races in new ways: Honda signed a 3-year deal to become the title sponsor of the LA Marathon in February, 2010 , the first time the race has ever allowed a partner of that level. This year Honda integrated the accomplishment of running a marathon and their rights to race marks into a national "Leap List" campaign; although seen only briefly, the marks are visible on the athlete's medal lanyard and race bib. John Hancock took a step forward in the digital activation around their partnership with the Boston Marathon. It's doubtful the BAA will ever allow a title sponsor, but you can't get much closer to one than 26-year partner John Hancock, who for years has activated with volunteer support, offi...