Nate DeMercurio Portfolio

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 ...

Photo: Edward Reed/NYC Mayor's Office Citi recently announced a $41 Million partnership with New York City's bike share program, to be called " Citi Bike ," as well as a campaign to activate their sponsorship of the US Olympic and Paralympic Team called " Every Step of the Way ." They are promoting both through Facebook ( Citi Bike , Citi Every Step ) and Twitter ( @CitiBikeNYC , @CitiEveryStep ), and have released viral videos and advertising spots for Every Step, including featuring Team USA marathon runner Meb Keflezighi: Another Every Step viral video features Team USA triathlete Gwen Jorgensen: It will be interesting to keep an eye on Citi and their increased investment in the active lifestyle space as a supplement to other sports marketing initiatives.

In the ever-expanding post-race beer garden scene, brewers seem to be stepping up to the tap. Michelob ULTRA was really the first beer to position itself as the choice for the active lifestyle community. Since then, they have seen competition from Miller 64 (previously MGD 64), including a back and forth sponsorship struggle for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series, among other events. While these two beers have a caloric content catered for athletes searching for a "healthier" option, they still represent a small piece each of Anheuser Busch and Miller Coors, and their endurance sponsorships are wide-spread with a mass focus. Recently, Samuel Adams announced they would brew a beer specifically for the upcoming Boston Marathon: Samuel Adams 26.2 Boston Brew. According to their website, " This unique brew is going to offer a lighter body and slightly lower alcohol level (4.5 percent) than many of the beers in our line-up.  In terms of flavor, you’ll enjoy light cerea...

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...

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...

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...