• by Karl Greenberg , October 15, 2008

The New York City Marathon might take place on the streets of the Big Apple, but brands vying for pole position are looking for both local and national activation.

Ann Wells Crandall, SVP of business development for the New York Road Runners Club (NYRRC), which owns the event, says there are 31 sponsors this year--up from 27 last year--with most engaged in multi-year deals from two to five years in duration.

New in the Nov. 2 race this year are Timex, A&P's Food Emporium, digital hearing-aid company Widex, and Emerald Nuts. Coors is in its fourth year of sponsoring the race.

Wells Crandall says that the club held a partner forum nine weeks ago to boost sponsorship activity around the race. "One goal was to provide clients with a marketing platform umbrella campaign." That effort--the four- to-six-week "What Does It Take" campaign--is running in New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Los Angeles. The creative for the campaign features world record holder and defending champion Paula Radcliffe.

Media includes outdoor, local TV and radio in target markets, and print ads in Runner's World, Running Times and Sports Illustrated.

Wells Crandall said the partner forum also led to the development of a three-week in-store program at New York grocery chain Food Emporium involving distribution of 100,000 ING New York City marathon circulars per week--featuring deals and coupons for eight of the race's sponsors, including Poland Spring, Barilla Pasta, PowerBar and The New York Times. In-store activity includes displays promoting the race and its sponsors and directing consumers to an online sweepstakes.

Sports-shoe manufacturer Asics' marathon effort centers on a "Tell Your Heart Story" contest--an online promotion in which runners can talk about their experiences running the marathon, with the best stories to be consolidated into a TV ad that will air during live coverage of the marathon. Asics is selling a New York City Marathon-themed running sneaker, including the marathon's course map printed on the insole of each shoe.

Coors Light--again the official beer of the marathon--will host 100 bar parties on race day throughout the five boroughs of New York City, plus Westchester and Nassau counties. Consumers who visit participating bars get free ING New York City Marathon T-shirts, cowbells, and other branded merchandise.

Timex will have branding and signage throughout the course and in the city on race day, with the logo on race clocks, banners, mile markers and lead vehicles. The watch company also has rights to use the trademark and the trade name of the ING NYC Marathon in advertising, promotion, publicity and merchandising programs throughout the length of the partnership. Crandall says an ING NYC Marathon-themed Timex watch is in the works for 2009.

The official snack sponsor Emerald Nuts will have an Emerald Nuts Cheer Zone along the last five miles of the marathon course, and will hand out nut samples and cheer kits to spectators.

"Our event has the most worldwide TV viewers of any sport," says Crandall, who says some broadcasts of the race garner some 312 million viewers worldwide. In addition to a five-hour show that airs on the local NBC affiliate, the network runs a one-hour highlight show nationally from 3 to 4 p.m. on the day of the race. The program is simulcast to 129 territories outside the U.S., and the race is streamed for free domestically and internationally on NBCsports.com.