The int’l scale of the World Marathon Majors was a key component in securing Abbott’s title sponsorship of the six-event series last year, said Chris Miller, divisional VP, global brand strategy and innovation at the global healthcare company. The conclusion of Series IX at the Tokyo Marathon on Sunday marked one year since Abbott was brought on as the series’ first title sponsor. Financial terms were not made public, but SBD Global previously wrote the deal is reportedly worth a mid- to high-seven figure sum annually. Miller told SBD Global the sponsorship has allowed Abbott to align itself with a globally recognized circuit that shares a similar message and vision. With 70% of Abbott's business coming from outside the U.S., Miller said the exposure is key. “We’re in 150 countries with 74,000 employees," Miller said. "As a company ourselves, we’re all around the world. Having the global nature of the races, it’s great.” With races in Tokyo, London, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and N.Y., Miller said the calendar allows Abbott to communicate its brand message on a int'l stage. “We can really tell a full-year story from race to race as part of our advertising and marketing,” Miller said.
TWO SIDES: Miller said he sees the sponsorship as having both an external and internal factor. On the external side, in addition to the series’ title sponsorship, Abbott has outdoor advertising at the races in N.Y., London and Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station, the busiest train station in the world. The healthcare company also has a presence at race expos in London and Chicago, with the Chicago expo featuring the Abbott sponsorship title. Miller said employee engagement was also an important part of the partnership. As part of the company’s internal activation, it holds a lottery where employees can win a bib to compete in one of the races. The route for the Tokyo event goes by Abbott’s Tokyo office, where Miller said employees and family members cheered on participants in Sunday’s race. “Like any good sponsorship, it’s more than just putting your name on something,” Miller said. “Certainly there are sponsors who do that, but for us, it’s about finding unique ways with the races through the properties, through the kind of engagement and acclimation we can create to connect with our audiences.”
NAME GAME: While Abbott is the title sponsor of the circuit, individual races have their own title sponsors, such as Virgin Money’s sponsorship of the London Marathon and BMW’s naming rights to the Berlin Marathon. When asked about competition from other rights holders in the title space, Miller said it was not a concern. “We have overlapping but different goals,” Miller said. “The title sponsors for each individual city, they tend to be looking for something that is much more local. And while local is very important for us, we’re also looking at the regional or global connection we can make from it. If you invest in thinking up really smart strategies and marketing ideas, you can break through in unique ways without having your name be the top name. That being said, with the Abbott World Marathon Majors, there’s an interesting cache because the six races belong to it.”
WHEELCHAIR SERIES: One of the innovations the sponsorship has brought forth is the inclusion of the World Marathon Wheelchair Series which will kick off at the Boston Marathon in April. “That’s expanding our footprint and our series to include unbelievable athletes,” World Marathon Majors GM Tim Hadzima said. “We also want to elevate their profile. With the partnership with Abbott, working together, we’ve been able to expand our series to include athletes like that that we had not had the opportunity to do before.”
