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.

Still rising in popularity, Pinterest was recently named the third largest social media platform behind Facebook and Twitter. While many brands are experimenting and still determining exactly how to go about maximizing Pinterest's marketing potential, Brooks jumped on board with a promotion tied to their existing brand campaign called "Pin Your Run Happy." The promotion ran for 30 days and encouraged athletes to create a Pinterest board expressing what it means to them to "Run Happy." The boards were required to be submitted through Facebook with a written description, with the winner receiving $500 in Brooks shoes and apparel, and helping launch Brooks' Run Happy Pinterest board . See the Brooks promotion page here: Pin Your Run Happy .

It seems one brand, or non-brand, has recently stepped up marketing efforts in the endurance space. With support from fitness magazines and studies claiming chocolate milk is one of the best options for post-workout nutrition, the "Refuel | got chocolate milk?" campaign is playing out through the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) website, TV ads and viral videos, print ads and event sponsorships. Chocolate milk is now the "Official Refuel Beverage" of the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, Ironman, Lifetime Run, USA Swimming, and the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF). The well-integrated campaign leverages these partnerships on-site at the events by offering athletes the opportunity to be selected for a sponsorship through public voting. Athletes can record videos at the events, or wherever they choose, which are uploaded and voted on the following month by the general public. Those who are selected for Team REFUEL win $500, branded training gear, an...

Rev3 Triathlon and blueseventy are running a co-promotion through which athletes receive a free race entry to any Olympic or Half Rev3 event if they purchase a Helix wetsuit (from the Rev3 Store); the offer is also good for half off a race entry for a Full Rev event. The total with shipping for a Helix wetsuit is $665.99, while registrations for the events range from $125-$175 (Olympic), $210-$275 (Half) and $425-$575 (Full) - registration figures reflect price increase after early and middle registration periods. As the offer is good only through this week - March 7th is the deadline - the best registration value is half of the Full Rev, or $212.50, which equates to a 32% discount off the price of the wetsuit. There are three scenarios where an athlete could take advantage of the offer: The athlete is planning to race a Rev3 event The athlete is in the market for a wetsuit The athlete is planning to race a Rev3 event AND is in the market for a wetsuit For scenario #1, would this offer...

Ironman "Kona Inspired" Ironman Triathlon has announced a new promotion, titled "Kona Inspired," which will allow eight lucky athletes to compete against the best in October at the Ford Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. In what is sure to generate an enormous amount of emotionally charged user-generated content, Ironman has invited the greater triathlon community to submit 90-second videos exemplifying the "Anything is Possible" spirit of the event. Not only will athletes generate the content, but the online community will play a role in selecting the winners, along with Ironman representatives. Assuming all athletes agree to release the rights of their videos to Ironman, this contest could provide the event with a vast library of human-interest promotional material for future use in other campaigns. It also gives Ironman a head start on the production process for filming background on these types of stories typically featured on the television b...