The name “Miami” is magical worldwide. Now the Miami Marathon is taking the name of its namesake city and adding a unique twist to it with a marketing campaign designed to sell out-of-town and local runners on the benefits of participation in South Florida’s elite running event and highlight the diversity of the city and the race.
The campaign is themed, “It’s Not Miami Without You” and highlights specific people, locations and things such as beaches, sunsets, Ocean Drive, competition, classic cars, swimsuits, fans, cafecitos, Pit Bull, flat roads, neon lights, palm trees, cruise ships, friends and relatives. When those other elements are incorporated, they replaced the word “You” on creative graphics.
Crossing from print to digital and video and produced in English and Spanish, the campaign highlights several runners and venues.
It is being featured through social and print media channels and on site visits marathon executives are making to U.S. locations such as New York, Chicago and New Jersey and International venues such as Mexico and Colombia.
On a recent Colombia trip, Director of Racing Frankie Ruiz came home with 220 race registrations, including one from Federico Gutierrez Zuluaga, the Mayor of Medellin. Ruiz also led a delegation to the Mexico City Marathon at the end of August which included a shake-out run organized in tandem with a local Mexico City retail store the morning before the race.
“Our Miami Marathon has become a destination race for runners from all over the world,” Ruiz said . “Miami sells itself. So with the “It’s Not Miami Without You” marketing campaign, we are drawing attention to all of the attractive elements about Miami and participation in the race and personalizing them for people based on what their interests might be.”
Ruiz continues to believe that the future growth of the Miami Marathon is going to come as much from Latin America as the United States and South Florida, making it more significant to focus race marketing on elements that make Miami an attractive destination city to go for a running weekend. More than 54 countries were represented in the 2017 Miami Marathon. Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Brazil, Guatemala and Ecuador are among the Latin American countries that send large contingents of runners to Miami every year.
“Much like Miami’s business future will depend on how well it serves and markets to Latin America, the Miami Marathon is also focused on that same formula for its success,” Ruiz said. “I am a firm believer that we will have more than 50% of our participants coming from outside the US in the near future. The ease of travel and the cultural familiarity of Miami make it extremely attractive to the Latin American runner.”
About Life Time®—Healthy Way of Life
Life Time® is a privately held, comprehensive healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment lifestyle company that offers a personalized and scientific approach to long-term health and wellness. Through its portfolio of distinctive resort-like destinations, athletic events and corporate health services, the Healthy Way of Life Company helps members achieve their goals everyday with the support of a team of dedicated professionals and an array of proprietary health assessments. As of October 10, 2017 the company operates 127 centers in 27 states and 35 major markets under the LIFE TIME FITNESS® and LIFE TIME ATHLETIC® brands in the United States and Canada.
