Theme Grab your Passport, Go to Miami is a campaign theme for the Miami Marathon with a strong focus on international runners. The Miami Marathon attracted 4,248 international runners in 2012. This campaign will increase the number of international runners while creating avenues to activate the Miami business community to welcome them. There are six platforms in this campaign. They include a Miami passport, international airport campaign, Facebook program, phone app, cruise ship collaboration and world food fair. The campaign is centered on passports, travel, running and Miami. We are trying to attract international runners by connecting their travel experience with the Miami Marathon. By placing ads in their countries or doing features on international participants, international Miami Marathoners will feel sought after and included. Each platform is designed to appeal to international runners, to attract them to Miami and to make their stay simple and more enjoyable. Additionally, the city of Miami will be promoted in the international campaigns to increase the number of international spectators and to promote return visits by international individuals. The visual concept will be centered on a passport image, runners, Miami and worldwide destinations. Passports are a constant of international travel and will be incorporated into every campaign platform to capitalize on its associations travel. The existing Miami Marathon logo will also be incorporated into the campaigns to add cohesion to the messages. Grab your Passport, Go to Miami will supplement the branding of the Miami Marathon while specifically appealing to international runners. 1
JOMC 476- Ethical Issues in Sports Communication David Egan, Drew Hayes, Tori Koesters, Lena Welch Table of Contents Theme Poster. i Theme Description. 1 Passport to Miami...3-5 International Airport Campaign. 6-8 Facebook Campaign.. 9-11 Phone App. 12-14 Cruise Collaboration 15-17 World Food Fair. 18-19 2
Passport to Miami Every participant will receive a passport to Miami, a booklet that contains discounts to major restaurants, shops, night clubs, and tourist attractions throughout Miami. When a participant visits a certain attraction, he or she receives a passport stamp from a staff member. It would encourage participants and family members to visit these local businesses and experience what Miami has to offer. Logistics: Once participants receive a certain number of venues stamped, they would be eligible to receive merchandise from the marathon or a discount at hotels and attractions for a later date. This would tie in the passport to the actual marathon, as well as encourage participants to return to Miami for a future vacation. For example: Get 3 restaurant stamps and pick up your free sunglasses on the day of the marathon or Get 10 stamps total and become eligible to receive a discount at the Marriot hotel for your trip back to Miami. Businesses that are participating would have a Miami Marathon Passport to Miami poster on the front of the store, to advertise their discount as well as the marathon itself. Shuttle discounts to the start line from hotels and back after the finish of the race will be featured. Discounts at Disney World would be featured in the passport as well, as many international runners stop by the famous Florida attraction after the marathon. Additionally, each runner would have the option to select a passport created to cater to their visit. Their passport would include attractions that appeal to different lifestyles including those traveling with their significant other or children (kid-friendly attractions for families, nightclubs for singles, etc.). 3
Grab your Passport, Go to Miami Creative: Below is an example of a restaurant s page in the Miami Passport offering discounts to participants: 4
Theme: The passport would appeal to international runners because it emphasizes what Miami has to offer that other marathons closer to home do not. The passport would connect the international runners to Miami, much in the same way that an actual passport connects international travelers to a new destination. This platform will be an avenue through which the sponsors of the Miami Marathon can leverage their sponsorships. It will be the centerpiece tying together the events and other promotions at the Miami Marathon because each participant will have a passport. Marathon: The passport would also encourage return visits to Miami. The campaign would at the same time single out Miami as a good destination internationally and help the marathon bring revenue to local businesses, reinforcing international appeal. Additionally, the passport can be utilized by those running in the Miami Marathon as well was those accompanying them. This is will promote more spending by those attending the Miami Marathon, spurring the domestic visitors who were not spending as much and incentivizing the international visitors to continue to spend. 5
International Airport Campaign The international airport campaign will be a main advertising and PR campaign for the marathon with an emphasis on reaching international runners and spectators. This will be a two part campaign. The first part would be an advertising campaign in airports around the world. The second part would be a PR pitch of runner features to the American Airlines inflight magazines. Airport Advertising: The Miami Marathon will purchase poster space in international airports with a few different designs, translated into whichever language is most common in the airport in which it is placed. Conceptually, the posters would feature people running in the given country with a passport and finish line in Miami. The tag line on the poster would be Grab your Passport, Go to Miami or Grab your Passport, Run to Miami. Theme: This fits perfectly into the theme and brings in the international element. These ads will ideally be placed in the international locations the Miami Marathon wants to target: Mexico, Brazil, Canada and other countries. Large international airports such as London Heathrow, Beijing, Paris, Frankfurt and Hong Kong will also be good locations for the advertisements because of the numbers of international flights these airports support. Marathon: Since American Airlines is one of the marathon s sponsors it would be great to work with them, possibly feature them in the ad, to lower ad costs. This could include a small line such as Fly American, Run Miami or something along those lines. 6
Creative: Below are some examples of the posters to be placed in the airports: Airline Magazine Features: This campaign will also focus on pitching to American Airlines inflight magazines, American Way, Celebrated Living and Nexos. Nexos is the airline s Spanish language version of the magazine which includes different context more suited to the Spanish and Portuguese speaking viewers. Celebrated Living is the airline s Luxury Magazine which is written English, but appeals to a wealthier traveler and is placed in first class only. American Airlines is already a marathon sponsor so this will hopefully be an attainable pitch. These stories would include features of Miami 7
Grab your Passport, Go to Miami Marathon runners (previous and future), domestic and international, with interesting stories on their road to Miami. In the magazine we would also try to share information about the shopping, dining, and entertainment in Miami to appeal to non-runners. In this aspect the places suggest could differ based on which American Airlines magazine it is used in. Below are some examples of the magazines that will feature stories on the international runners: Theme: This campaign will be able to reach the international market and can be tailored to specific geographic regions of interest. The features will be about runners with interesting stories that would engage the international audience. By pushing these features in in-flight magazines, the campaign targets those who already participate in a major part of the theme: travel. Marathon: By having these stories centered on Miami and the marathon featured in in-flight magazines we could easily reach an international and domestic audience that is prone to traveling. This target audience would be most likely to travel to Miami. Additionally, the participants in the Miami Marathon are typically affluent, and therefore able to afford to fly. 8
Facebook Campaign Grab your Passport, Go to Miami The Miami Marathon will use Facebook, the most popular website for participants accessing running-related information, to create webisodes about international runners and encourage others to create similar videos and to respond and connect to each other. The Marathon s Facebook page will be linked to its YouTube channel where the selected participants will be able to vlog about their experiences, including an episode about getting an updated passport and their traveling experiences. These personal testimonies will not only strengthen the network of runners, making them more likely to return, but it will also allow them to connect to the theme of the Miami Marathon as they go through the necessary steps of international travel in addition to their normal training. Additionally, the Miami Marathon will be able to use the positive feedback to improve their operation or as a form of advertisement. Logistics: The Miami Marathon will provide video cameras to the featured runners. A partnership with Flip Cam or Go Pro will allow the Miami Marathon to not only utilize these cameras before the event, but Miami Marathon s ownership of these cameras will result in the usage of cameras during the event. For example, the pacers could wear the Go Pro cameras during the race to get footage of the event. The runners will also be selected by the Miami Marathon. The Miami Marathon will have to contact these runners to see if they will agree to document their training and preparation for the marathon. These runners should be representative of those in the races. Some areas to feature are successful runners, first time runners, half marathoners, both males and females, runners with children. We suggest that the Miami Marathon has five runners making webisodes, one from the US, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and Guatemala (last year s marathon winner). While other runners will be encouraged to interact through the Facebook and YouTube platforms, no video equipment will be provided to those individuals. The Miami Marathon will need someone to monitor the comments and responses to the webisodes. The Miami Marathon will also need to provide translations for these videos. These videos will need to be clear for those speaking English, Spanish, Portuguese or French. Subtitles are sufficient, but subtitles in multiple languages can be confusing, so alternate 9
videos for each language will be necessary. These webisodes will begin three months before the marathon less frequently, but appear once a week with each of the five runners corresponding to one of the five weekdays for the final month leading to the Marathon. Creative: No new creative will be needed for this project. The Marathon will be responsible for editing the webisodes, but as these are in a vlog format, so no major editing will be necessary. The Miami Marathon logo will appear at the end of each of the webisodes. Links to the Miami Marathon s website as well as to the websites of its sponsors can appear at the end of the videos. Online & Social Media: These webisodes will be featured on the Miami Marathon s Facebook and YouTube pages; therefore, social media will be critical to the success of this campaign. This campaign strives to create more interaction online and will be a main feature of the Miami Marathon s social media efforts. Below is an example of a Facebook posting of the YouYube video: 10
Theme: The international runners will connect this campaign back to our theme Grab your Passport, Go to Miami. As part of their agreement to create these webisodes, the runners will have to document their preparation for traveling in addition to their training. Marathon: Facebook is used by a majority of marathoners to find more information about marathons. This is a platform that reaches many of those running in the Miami Marathon and already has a bit of a community. By linking the videos from YouTube to the Facebook page we will reach an already existing audience in our efforts to grow the audience. Demographics of the Miami Marathon will help to find the best candidates for the webisodes. There will need to be representation of women as well as those with children because large proportions of the participants fall into these categories. 11
Phone App The Miami Marathon will create a phone app to bring together runners while they are training and to generate buzz before the race. This app will allow runners to track how far they have run during their training. Runners will compete for their home country with the goal of being part of the country with the most training miles logged. We will also track individual miles trained and award prizes for that. Online & Social Media: To spread word about the app, the Miami Marathon s existing social media will be used. This will keep the advertising cost effective and stick with our goal of engaging runners prior to the race. The Miami Marathon will post real-time standings on Facebook throughout the contest, highlighting countries and individuals. The top ten individuals that complete the most training miles daily will be posted on Facebook. The top daily runner will have a picture and be profiled on the Miami Marathon page. We will also post the standings for each country as they compete to have the most training miles. Logistics: The Miami Marathon will build the app and offer it free on itunes for runners to download. Once a runner has installed the app, he or she will be prompted to register his or her home country. As a base point, the capital of each country will be used. For example, registered runners from Brazil will be given Rio de Janeiro as their starting training point. Rio is 4,167 miles from Miami. Registered Brazil runners will work together to meet their collective goal of 4,167 miles and train their way to Miami. For countries that are closer, like Canada, runners will be encouraged to see how many times they can train their way to the marathon. To keep costs of the app down, for both the runners and us, miles will be individually logged by runners. Since the miles are self-reported, we will be relying on honesty in the contest. This will not be an issue because if a runner was not actually running the miles he or she was logging they are just hurting themselves for the race. To ensure that cheating does not happen, there will be a cap to the number of times a runner can log his or her miles a day. The Miami Marathon will also monitor miles logged to make sure there are no abnormal entries. 12
Creative: The creative execution for this platform will be the app itself. The app will be comprised of four parts. The first part, Trainer will allow runners to keep time and pace during their training. Track Your Miles will be where runners can individually log their training miles for the day. As mentioned before, to prevent cheating when self-reporting miles, runners will be limited to recording their miles trained once each day. In addition to our previously mentioned Facebook page, runners will be able to track each country s total miles trained under the Country Scores tab. Finally, the Interact tab will allow runners to send each other encouraging messages to keep training. For example, a runner from Brazil could message another runner to train an extra mile tomorrow, or congratulate them on a great day of training. Below is an example of the homepage of the app: 13
Theme: The phone app is consistent with our theme of targeting international runners and bringing them together through the marathon. This app is designed to build up buzz for the race, encourage friendly competition, and engage runners with one another. The different parts of the app will allow runners to be engaged with the marathon and each other prior to coming to Miami. Marathon: International runners provide more of an economic impact to Miami. By creating this app, the Miami Marathon will illustrate the importance of international runners by recognizing their countries and promoting engagement between the runners of those countries. At the marathon, we will recognize the winners of the app-based contests. Prizes will be given to the top ten runners that individually complete the most training miles. In addition, t-shirts will be given to registered runners from the country with the most collective miles. Signage will also be used around the race to congratulate the winning country. 14
Cruise Collaboration The Miami Marathon will create a partnership with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to promote another way of international travel while providing an inventive way to stay in Miami. Logistics: The Miami Marathon will partner with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line to offer international runners a chance to vacation their way to the marathon. The cruise would start at the Royal Caribbean port in Sao Paulo, Brazil and then make a stop at Cozumel, Mexico before heading to the final destination in Miami. International runners from Brazil and Mexico would have the opportunity to stay aboard the cruise ship docked in the port during their time in Miami. Transportation shuttles would be provided from the docked ship to the start line and restaurants and attractions featured in the passport. Part of the race even runs right past the cruise dock. Those registered with the race will receive exclusives aboard the ship, such as access to training facilities and an outdoor track. Marketing for the option to take the cruise to Miami would be sent to registered runners near the scheduled stops to encourage them to make a vacation of it for themselves or the whole family. 15
Runners running by the cruise port during the Miami Marathon: The cruise ships have tracks as well as treadmills for runners participating in the Miami Marathon to continue their training on board: 16
Theme: This platform will encourage an atmosphere of vacation in addition to the hard work for the race. Runners will receive facilities to train on the way there, and options for spas and recovery on the way back. Overall, it will make runners looking for an international race choose Miami because, with the Cruise to Miami, it would be a full vacation as well. The cruise emphasizes the Passport to Miami theme, as one is experiencing an international vacation in addition to the thrill of running a marathon. Marathon: This cruise partnership will appeal to international runners as an easier way to travel and stay in Miami. According to a survey of the participants of the 2012 Miami Marathon, 26 percent would be willing to pay for premium services. This cruise partnership would fall into that category. Because of the affluence of marathon participants a luxury stay on a cruise ship could be a lucrative platform. 17
World Food Fair Grab your Passport, Go to Miami To keep with the international aspect of our passport theme, the Miami Marathon will host an international food fair. The food fair will be held the day after the race and marketed as a fun event for which international runners should stay. Logistics: The food fair will be held at Bayfront Park, the finish site of the race. This location will be familiar for all runners and is located in the heart of downtown Miami. The food fair will feature local vendors cooking international foods and Miami area foods. The Miami Marthon will make sure that the larger groups of international travelers are represented with their own food station. For example, we would find a Brazilian food vendor in Miami to represent Brazilian runners in the marathon. The food fair will also feature vendors that serve popular Miami cuisine. Online & Social Media: The Miami Marathon will promote the fair on its website and on the Facebook page. Leading up to the event the different vendors that will be in attendance will be released to create buzz for the post-race event. When the vendors are released, each will have a Facebook poll allowing runners to vote for their favorite dishes to be showcased at the fair. This will allow runners to have an active role in the creation of the food fair through Facebook. Theme: Runners who attend the food fair will receive stamps on their passport. Stamps will be given out by each vendor when the runner visits their station. Vendors can choose to offer discounts for stamps to encourage runners to come to their restaurant later in the week. All stamps collected by runners will also count towards their total and potentially winning prizes. 18
Marathon: The international runners do much to strengthen the economy of Miami during their stays. This food fair would honor their cultures and promote the restaurants in Miami that are true to their cultures. This will be the time when the international runners can celebrate their cultures and countries. 19