I hope you enjoyed watching the NYC Marathon event yesterday, whether live in person or through your home TV tube. Aside from seeing the extra level of security measures in location following Boston Bombing tragedy, the event itself went pretty smoothly.







Caption: Geoffrey Muttai crossing the finish line

It must be a bitter sweet moment however for ING, as it was going to be ING’s last year of NYC Marathon sponsorship. And next year, it will be Tata Consultancy Service’s (TSC) first mark being the title sponsor. In its announcement, N ew Y ork R oad R unner said it hopes the partnership with TCS will "make the New York City Marathon the most technologically advanced and socially engaged marathon in the world." TCS has been a technology consulting partner for NYRR since 2010 and it previously developed mobile apps for the 2013 NYC Half and will create a new app for the 2013 marathon that will help participants track runners and receive race results, NYRR said. TCS has also been a technology partner of the Boston, Berlin and Chicago marathons, and are the title sponsor of the Amsterdam Marathon. "They’re passionate about running," NYRR CEO Mary Wittenberg told Runner's World Newswire . "This enabled them to take their passion about running to a new level. It’s not like it’s a new game and they’re not sure it’s going to work.” ( Runners World )







Caption: Spectators can get very creative with their poster boards sometimes



Runner's World Newswire

But before we let them go, let’s take a look at a couple of case studies/lessons we can learn from them.

Dr. Melissa Johnson Morgan wrote the following case study back in 2005. ( A.Dr. Melissa Johnson Morgan wrote the following case study back in 2005. ( Sports Marketing

Why did ING pick NYC marathon?

After researching more than 100 types of sponsorships to find the right fit, Strategist at ING’s global headquarters decided that sport offers some unique marketing opportunities and that running in particular was a good “fit” with their organization. Distance running was seen to fit well with ING values such as challenging limits, long-term vision and the drive to do more . In addition, running attracts a diverse field of participants and spectators in terms of gender, age, and nationality, which matches the diverse and international character of ING’s clients . Running is a true global sport, unhindered by cultural or language differences and is also surprisingly upscale with running being a common passion among business leaders ( 385 CEOs ran the New York City Marathon in 2004 ).

2. ING’s contribution?

The New York City marathon organisers resisted having a title sponsor for 35 years, but ING put forward a proposal to not only be a financial sponsor of the event but to work to make the event and the sport of running in general even better.





3. What strategies did ING implement for this sponsorship?

At the 2004 event, they used a balance of marketing and community service. These activities were divided into three categories:

Those held in the NY area prior to the event

o Selected four female marathon contenders and paired them with four public parks and have them ran to raise capital improvement funding for their parks.

o Attended annual Health and Fitness Expo in NY and show a fly-through video of the 26.2 mile route in fast motion while handing out custom ING Pace Wristbands that would let runners know if they were ahead or behind at each marker during the race.

o They also had a street team that went door-to-door in all five boroughs of NY handing out fliers that folded into megaphones to get the public jazzed up about the race.





Those held in the NY area on the day of the event (Set up ‘Cheering Zones’ throughout the race to generate awareness. These tented zones provided a rallying point for communities to cheer their runners on and extend the reach of the event beyond traditional locations. These tents featured wireless devices that consumer could use to check real-time progress of runners, two large monitors broadcasting live coverage, snacks, and a local DJ. Customers were also given pompoms, balloons, kazoos, and ‘Go!’ signs





Those held outside the NY area. Held other marathon themed events in other ING locations around the world prior to the race weekend.





I came across this B.I came across this case study prepared by Lemon LLC in 2011.

To learn more about what Lemon LLC does: click here

Why is ING ending the sponsorship? C.Why is ING ending the sponsorship?

Well, apparently ING is going through a reorganization and will have a new name: VOYA Financial. ING was a part of ING Group (Netherland company), but now it’s going through the process of becoming an independent, standalone, U.S.- based company. Don’t get this confused with ING Direct which is now Capital 360 which was once a part of the ING Group but was later divested due to a financial crisis in late 2000.











Caption: Images from ING 'Orange Money' campaign. ( BBDO





Well it maybe some time before we hear the name ING again. But, let’s hear what its current CMO had to say during an interview with Interbrand about VOYA Financial:

“Think about the difference between a consumer goods company and a financial services company. Once I buy my tube of tooth paste or my bar of soap, I really don’t need a lot of help in using that product, but in financial services company, the moment of truth is that moment when somebody calls us at a call center. It’s in having conversations with our customers and listening very closely that we’re going to build sort of repeat business, we’re going to build trust. Look at this name, ‘VOYA Financial’ – Ann Glover, Chief Marketing Officer ING US. ( Interbrand

I’m sure not only ING that have this story to tell about their sponsorship for the New York City Marathon but also these other partners (see list of 2013 partners )

And just with any other types of marketing, there are risks involved with implementing a sponsorship as big as this one. For example, New York City Marathon was cancelled last year due to its timing proximity to Hurricane’s Sandy disaster hence as marketers we always need to have an alternate plan. ( Huffington Post







Caption: View of Central Park when the marathon was cancelled last year



It’s been a good run no pun intended for ING for these past years, look forward to the next marathon.



