Nate DeMercurio Portfolio

As the first Wednesday of the month, June 6th was proclaimed National Running Day , an effort spearheaded by the New York Road Runners. A number of iconic running organizations partnered to promote this effort in a variety of ways and further participation in the sport across the country. Major running groups, like the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA), Boston Athletic Association (BAA), Atlanta Track Club (ATC), Running USA , USA Track & Field and of course the New York Road Runners (NYRR) were involved on some level. Also involved were some major events that leveraged the day to provide registration discounts and capitalize on a contrived promotional opportunity, for lack of a better term. Competitor Group and Rock 'n' Roll Marathon called out to runners everywhere to submit miles run on June 6th (over 23,000 miles were logged online), in addition to offering race discounts to select races, like the Latin Music Miami Beach Half Marathon . Competitor Group so...

Image: Ironman As the final selection of videos nears for the " Kona Inspired " promotion and the winners are chosen for their spots in the World Championships, Ironman is asking athletes to submit letters (and artwork, photography, lyrics, etc.) detailing what makes Ironman a part of their daily lives. This submission request is to help celebrate the 35th anniversary of Ironman in 2013. Like the Kona Inspired promotion, this will generate plenty of emotional content that can later be used in advertising and other promotion. See more about promotions and contests from Ironman on their Facebook page.

While many people across the country, and the world, witnessed the final stage of the Amgen Tour of California weave through the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday, the general public had the opportunity to ride the 5-mile closed circuit course before the professional riders took over. Sponsored by Nissan, the Ride Before the Pros was free to participants and allowed anyone with a bicycle the experience of crossing the official race finish line. This appears to be a growing trend for events with streets closures, which can increase participation and exposure while maximizing permitting costs. In this case, the Amgen Tour of California gave spectators a chance to participate in the event at no cost, encouraging people to stay and watch the race which drives higher attendance and greater on-site sponsor value, and generally creates a more exciting event atmosphere. In other cases, participatory events are seeing value in the efficiencies of adding bike tours prior to traditional running ...

Travel and tourism continues to be one of the largest economic impact factors of endurance events, which has led organizations and events to look at ways to capitalize. In other cases, travel companies tied to endurance brands and events are evolving vacations for athletes looking for unique experiences of a lifetime. Star Events  - producers of cycling, triathlon and running events - recently launched a travel division, Star Travel  offering accommodation packages exclusively for Star Events. Benefits for using this event-hosted service is described as accommodation in preselected hotels, private apartments and villas all in walking distance from the start and finish line, insider information for training facilities, cozy restaurants, and attractive sites worth sightseeing. It's not surprising to see an event series branch out and offer it's participants travel packages and could be a likely brand extension for a series like Rock 'n' Roll or Ironman, provided they t...

It's refreshing when a company as large as Nike listens to their environmental conscience. Changing even the smallest things in certain business practices can translate exponentially to a massively reduced carbon footprint. Nike Better World is a global campaign to accomplish two objectives: become more environmentally responsible and better the world through sport. Succinctly put, "redefining performance and innovation to serve the athlete and the world." In typical Nike fashion, this campaign is vast and all-encompasing with regard to initiatives, tactics and outlets. The online web presence extends to multiple sites and pages portraying the efforts Nike is taking to streamline waste and inefficiencies through their products, packaging, supply chain, energy usage, etc. The " product " page has an incredibly innovative and unique user experience depicting images that appear to be on different layers and move at different rates as you scroll down. Ni...

Now that Facebook is converting everyone to the new "Timeline" format, it's interesting to see how the endurance community is reacting - are they using the large profile photo for promotion or marketing, using dramatic photos to stir emotion, or are they letting the opportunity go by the wayside? This is merely an image gallery (in no particular order) of updated Facebook timelines, the second in a five-part series. Some are creative, some are strategic and some could use work. It's important to remember the primary benefits of having a Facebook page in the first place - allowing an event to reach, interact with, and learn from athletes through a comfortable medium. Today's focus is on: endurance events .