New York, NY – October 6, 2017- Global athletic leader and 2017 TCS New York City Marathon athletic footwear and apparel partner, New Balance, unveiled the All Roads Lead to NYC campaign today via social media and out-of-home advertising. The full 360 campaign includes official footwear, apparel and accessories, out-of-home advertising, experiential consumer activations, digital and social engagements, on course block party and a pop-up shop.
“We are excited to celebrate our first year as a NYRR foundation partner and help host this incredible event,” said Tom Carleo New Balance Vice President of Running. “Participants travel different roads, from all corners of the world, but what they all have in common is they all cross the same finish line in NY. We look forward to celebrating that moment with them.”
The All Roads Lead to NYC campaign celebrates the emotional journey of the runner, the sense of accomplishment a marathon runner feels getting to the starting line in New York but especially the unforgettable feeling of crossing the finish line. The 2017 campaign features hero images from real runners as they came across the finish line in 2016. The images capture authentic runners throwing their hands in the air, becoming a human “Y”, to celebrate the hard work and dedication it took to cross that finish line.
“Our relationship with New Balance reached full engagement this year, and we are thrilled about all of the incredible opportunities they are providing for our local and global running community,” said Sarah Cummins, Head of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at New York Road Runners. “The ‘All Roads Lead to NYC’ campaign is inspirational and heroic – a true embodiment of TCS New York City Marathon day for our 50,000 runners. We look forward to continuing to bring our partnership with New Balance to life in innovative and inspiring ways.”
To further celebrate the finish line emotion, New Balance will have several NYC Victory Pose locations throughout the city. Each location will have life size “N” and “C” letters inviting visitors to become the “Y” in NYC and showcase how they would celebrate reaching their finish line on social media using the brand’s official marathon hashtag #RoadToNYC. The NYC Victory Pose will kick off on October 29th at the TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion and roll out to other locations including the TCS New York City Marathon Expo Presented by New Balance, Sheraton New York Times Square, NYRR RUNCENTER Featuring the New Balance Run Hub, New Balance Flatiron store, Paragon Sports and select DSW stores. Please follow New Balance on Instagram, @newbalance, in order to see where you can become part of the NYC Victory Pose.
In addition, the brand will launch the New Balance Run Club pop-up, located in the And&And space at 353 West 12th Street in the heart of the West Village. The New Balance Run Club will offer three days of programming starting on Thursday, November 2nd through Saturday, November 4th with each day focusing on a new theme. Day one (Thursday) will focus on the rhythm of distance running with musical guests, day two (Friday) will focus on performance with a Team New Balance athlete panel and day three (Saturday) will explore fuel for marathon runners. All three days offer visitors an escape from the city and a chance to interact with New Balance while enjoying food, drinks, daily runs and limited-edition merchandise.
As another dimension of the All Roads Lead to NYC campaign New Balance will also offer the New Balance Run Concierge providing a variety of services to the runner and their support crew. The Run Concierge will have four locations, each one with a different theme. At the NYRR RUNCENTER Featuring the New Balance Run Hub visitors can participate in the New Balance Test Drive, which allows them to check out a pair of New Balance running footwear for free and unlock a surprise gift bag. At the TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion any visitor who purchases a marathon badged top can receive free customization; allowing runners and non-runners to personalize their gear. Other locations for the Run Concierge are New Balance Flatiron store and the New Balance Run Club. The Run Concierge will be available from November 2nd to November 4th at the NYRR RUNCENTER Featuring the New Balance Run Hub, New Balance Flatiron store and the New Balance Run Club location, then October 29th through November 3rd at the TCS New York City Marathon Pavilion.
To further excite New Yorkers, New Balance has commissioned local artists to create murals in each of the five boroughs that will celebrate the marathon through the lens of that borough. The artwork of David Park in Staten Island (827 Castleton Avenue), Doves in Queens (30th Avenue and Wellington Court), Wayne in the Bronx (Bruckner Blvd and Lincoln Avenue), Ron English in Manhattan (1st Avenue and St. Marks) and AvOne in Brooklyn (307 McKibbin St) will entice visitors to step into the artwork and share on their social handles tagging @newbalance and using #RoadToNYC.
For race day New Balance is helping runners punch through the proverbial ‘wall’ by creating the New Balance Mile 20 Block Party, often the most difficult part of the race for a marathoner. The New Balance Mile 20 Block Party will have live music by Bronx DJ’s, a large interactive digital screen, encouraging words from fellow New Yorkers and Daybreaker will curate a cheer zone with incredible energy unique to the world renowned dance party.
Finally, New Balance will blanket the city in the Road to NYC creative with out-of-home advertising starting October 9th. This includes digital billboards in Times Square, subway takeovers at the new digital 34th Street-Hudson Yard, a total domination at Columbus Circle near the finish line, taxi TV videos and local and national broadcast spots. The New Balance TCS New York City Marathon Collection launched on September 15th and is available at select retailers, including the NYRR RUNCENTER Featuring the New Balance Run Hub, New Balance 5th Avenue and www.newbalance.com with suggested retail pricing ranging from $30 for graphic t-shirts to $250 for high performance, limited-edition jackets.
About New Balance
New Balance, headquartered in Boston, MA has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. Manufactured in the U.S. for over 75 years and representing a limited portion of our U.S. sales, New Balance Made U.S. is a premium collection that contains a domestic value of 70% or greater. New Balance owns five factories in New England and one in Flimby, U.K. New Balance employs more than 6,000 associates around the globe, and in 2016 reported worldwide sales of $3.8 billion. To learn more about New Balance, please visit www.newbalance.com and for the latest press information please visit http://newbalance.newsmarket.com.
About the TCS New York City Marathon
The TCS New York City Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners (NYRR) and the largest marathon in the world. Over 1,000,000 people have finished the race since its first running in 1970 with just 127 entrants and 55 finishers running four laps around Central Park. The race expanded to all five boroughs in 1976 and just celebrated its 40th year as a five-borough affair. Held annually on the first Sunday of November, the race features over 50,000 runners including the world’s top professional athletes and a vast range of competitive, recreational, and charity runners. Participants from approximately 125 countries tour the city, starting on Staten Island at the foot of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and running through the neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx before ending in Manhattan. The NYRR Youth Invitational at the TCS New York City Marathon covered 1.8 miles of the race course in Central Park, beginning near mile 24 and finishing at the famed TCS New York City Marathon finish line. More than one million spectators and thousands of volunteers line the city streets in support of the runners, while millions more watch the television broadcast in 175 countries and territories, including viewers in the New York area on WABC-TV, Channel 7, nationally on ESPN2, and via various international broadcast partners. The race is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, which features the world’s top marathons—Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York—and crowns the top professional male and female marathoners each year. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a leading global IT services, consulting, and business solutions organization, is the premier partner of NYRR and the title sponsor of the TCS New York City Marathon. The 47th running of the TCS New York City Marathon is set for November 5, 2017. To learn more, visit www.tcsnycmarathon.org.
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