SPORTS MARKETING
The 1:59 Challenge And
The Return Of The Tiger
(Woods): Lessons In
Sports Marketing
By Richard Wanjohi
The 1:59 Challenge
How many of you knew of the INEOS
brand before the record-breaking effort by
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge? Hands up if you
didn’t. For those who came late, INEOS is a
British-based chemicals firm with interests
in oil and gas owned by its ‘publicity-shy’
CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe - among the top 3
UK’s richest individuals as of May 2019.
INEOS full meaning is drawn from the full
name INspec Ethylene Oxide Specialities,
or as they would love us to believe: Ineo
(Latin for ‘New Beginning’), Eos (Greek’s
goddess of Dawn) or better still Neos
(Greek’s word for something new or
innovative).
Sir Ratcliffe has been making strategic
sports sponsorship investments in sailing,
football and cycling. He was also intrigued
by marathon running thanks in part to his
exuberant Sir Dave John Brailsford - GM
of the INEOS Cycling team (formerly
Sky Racing).
The marathon record-breaking attempt
was originally borne out of the great run
by Eliud during the Olympics in Rio in
2016 and various attempts at this in 2017.
Nike’s Breaking2 serving as a promotional
event for its running shoes brand, the first
attempt in Monza in May of 2017 fell
short by a few seconds.
With the record-run in the Berlin
Marathon in 2017 and the scientific
approach to the new attempt, the seasoned
runner was able to rework the attempt at
breaking the longest single athletic event
to a time 1h:59m:40s!
In revisiting this event, the planning
team sponsored mainly by INEOS -
working with American sports scientists
Robby Ketchell and Sir Brailsford as well
as Kipchoge’s manager and confidant
In keeping with the audience numbers, a
study done by online and digital analytics
experts estimated the number of impressions
for the INEOS brand at over 15 billion on the
different social media platforms. It was even
more astounding that Kenyan brands were
able to milk the event for its publicity. I lost
count of the number of brands that took ad-
vantage of the record-breaking feat including
EABL, Little Cab, Tuskys, Isuzu to mention
those that stood out.
90 MAL33/19 ISSUE
Valentijn Trouw of Global Sports
Communication - was able to work
meticulously in selecting the perfect
venue in Prater Park, Hauptallee, Vienna
- Switzerland. The reasoning behind this
selection was three-pronged;
First the venue was selected for its
relatively flat gradient. This ensured no
climbs or slopes to reduce or increase
the pace disproportionately. The track is
lined with trees breaking the wind and
providing a perfect shade in case of any
sunshine.
Secondly, it was chosen because Vienna
lies on a time zone close to Kaptagat
(Rift Valley) in Kenya where Kipchoge
trains to keep in check any jet lag or
interference with his body patterns -
eating and sleeping. To complement this,
the INEOS CEO Sir Ratcliffe sent his
own private plane to charter Kipchoge
and his family to the venue a few days
before the record attempt.
Thirdly, the venue is on a lower altitude
than most of the other marathon tracks
enabling the athlete to perform at peak
levels thanks to the increased oxygen
in the air. Vienna provided the right
temperatures, humidity and relative
dry weather in October needed for the
record attempt.
After the Monza miss, the race
organizers went back to the drawing
board and relooked at the timing of the
marathon. In 2017, the Monza course
took place in May while the Vienna one
was scheduled for October - with at least
a window of 8 days on or after the 12th