Last week I had the pleasure of attending the “Super Bowl” of endurance events: the 2007 Ford Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, where nearly 1,700 active athletes participated in the challenging journey consisting of a 2.4 swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run.
Sadly, I did not compete in the event, which, for me, was a challenge itself. As a competitive tri-athlete, I thrive on such competitions and would rather be out there sweating with my peers than watching from the gallery.
My saving grace, however, was being there to represent Active Athlete Media and a first-of-its-kind mobile marketing program that brought Ironman athletes and fans closer to the action than ever before. In today’s highly mobile society, with consumers leading more active lifestyles, it’s important to hit people at their passion point with relevant information.
So, as part of an extended digital marketing strategy that combined both offline and online marketing, Active Athlete engaged AT&T as the exclusive wireless provider to deliver Ironman event information via mobile phones. This included text message (SMS) updates with participant status at key checkpoints, as well as a custom-built Web site (WAP) that even supported streaming video of the event.
Bringing AT&T into the fold of this high profile event proved to be extremely valuable throughout the race, delivering results that far exceeded my expectations. For starters, fans—specifically family and friends—could easily track the progress of their favorite athlete for a more engaged, enjoyable viewing experience. Or, for other general race information, they could quickly access the Ironman.com WAP site from their mobile browser.
Without question, both fans and athletes embraced this incorporation of advanced technology, expressing their gratitude. Several athletes approached me afterwards saying how cool it was that their fans could instantaneously track them along their course, while scores of fans themselves raved about staying so closely connected to the race. How else could you know right away that defending champ Norman Stadler dropped out of the race due to a stomach virus, or that Chris McCormack had taken the lead for good?
The record number of text message sign-ups and alerts this year—Ironman has actually used SMS technology in the past—is encouraging. It was very exciting to see how word-of-mouth spread among fans to increase use of the system. I’m extremely proud of how we brought this technology forth to serve as a catalyst for seamless information flow across the community.
By sponsoring both of these elements, AT&T enjoyed significant visibility across a large, active, mobile audience—including thousands of existing and prospective customers. What’s more, beyond these mobile marketing services, Active Athlete provided signage for the onsite “Ironman AT&T Mobile Experience” and other promotional material distributed throughout the race venue.
It was a prime example of how Active Athlete helps both advertisers and publishers utilize custom packages, new media formats and targeted media to reach an audience that is on-the-go, passionate, innovative and success driven. Equally important, it demonstrates the high value we all have in promoting active athletes and lifestyle sports
As a result, Active Athlete will continue its incorporation of mobile marketing technology and services with other events. In fact, our campaign with AT&T will continue this year with the upcoming Ironman event in Panama City, Florida on November 3.
In the end, our participation in the Ironman World Championship was an exciting affair that truly enhanced the experience for everyone involved, demonstrating what marketing is all about.
As for me? I can honestly say that the rush I enjoyed working on this campaign was just as exhilarating as if I had won the event. Well, almost!
