ING NYC Marathon

This past Sunday was the NYC Marathon, sponsored by ING. The marathon has become quite the event in NYC, with live coverage and celebrations all around town. I myself ran the marathon when I turned 40, it was birthday gift to myself. Quite an experience. I was very proud this year of all my friends who were checking this off their "bucket" list.

I had a funny marketing revelation this year, a bit of a "duh" moment. I have to say that I always wondered why a financial services company like ING would spend all that money on a title sponsorship. Other than the obvious sheer awareness, it wasn't intuitively obvious to me. Where was the brand equity connection?

But then this year I heard a company spokesperson explain it, and I got it. For financial planning, you have to be in it for the long haul. It's a marathon, not a print.

Ohhhhh! Makes sense. And it certainly appears that ING gets a lot out of the sponsorship -- the brand is top of mind the entire marathon promotion season with all the merchandising, media coverage, signage, etc. It's a full marketing extravaganza.

It was also fun to see all the local businesses use the marathon as a marketing event as well. Dinner and drink specials, that kind of thing. Lifts the spirits of the entire city, something to rally around.

Congrats to all the runners, and to the lead sponsor. Job well done!

What's your experience? Jim