Objectives

Andy McMenemy, the son of a former soldier, attempted to break the Guinness World Record for running 66 consecutive ultra-marathons (31.9 miles) without any rest days. Andy was running on behalf of ABF The Soldiers Charity.

The client brief included handling the day to day press office before the event, during the 66 marathons and the weeks after the event. Key objectives included raising brand awareness for Challenge66 and ABF The Soldiers Charity, driving donations and managing the Challenge66 social media platforms.

Approach   

We acted as the press office for Challenge66, as Andy was setting off on yet another gruelling ultra-marathon, we were ensuring that there was media at the start and finish line to report on his heroic efforts.

We utilised Twitter and Facebook to drive awareness and donations. Celebrities including Lorraine Kelly, Kelly Holmes, Coleen Rooney and Amir Kahn showed their support for Andy through their personal Twitter profiles.

Key Tactics

• Tailored press kits were sent out to each of the 66 cities
• A strategic media relations campaign was implemented across all 66 days
• Warm-up shopping centre marathons were organised to build awareness
• Large scale launch event organised on the main shopping street in Leeds
• Partnered with Lord Mayor's and Lady Mayoresses in most cities to start the marathons
• Partnered with Sir Roger Bannister to build awareness of the Oxford Marathon
• Used Facebook and Twitter to provide real-time content of Andy's heroic efforts, this helped drive donations and awareness

Results:

• 280 media hits across the 66 day campaign including Sky News, ITN News, The Daily Mail, The Daily Mirror, The Guardian, BBC News.
• £80,000 raised for charity
• Audience reach of over 20 million