Event Management - adidas Sundown Marathon
Introduction
My classmates and I went to the adidas Sundown Marathon on 31 May at around 9.20pm to gain first-hand experience. It was held at Changi Point. It was Singapore’s first ever night long-distance run event. The categories in this year’s event included the 84km Ultra Marathon, the 42km Marathon, Team Challenge and Corporate Challenge. The latter two categories had teams of four participants running 10.5km each.
There were a total of 6029 participants taking part in this event. It was a new and unique race experience for all the runners because the route was designed to challenge the mind, body and soul of athletes.
It is just different running at night. It is quieter and one is able to clear their mind to focus on the run. I believe that the runners who participated in this race would enjoy the nocturnal urban landscape of Singapore.
Background of the Organiser 
This event was organised by HiVelocity Pte Ltd. HiVelocity is a company built on the pure passion and love for sports. HiVelocity is created based on convictions and idealism with a great deal of enthusiasm. It provides knowledge and consultancy, market and distributes brands and organises events. It understands what customers want and constantly add value to it. In addition, HiVelocity wish to create great sporting experiences for all and want to be able to do what they love and spread that inspiration around.
HiVelocity was also responsible for bringing the Aviva Singapore Ironman 70.3 Triathlon competition to Singapore’s race stage last year. Since that inception in 2006, the Ironman 70.3 series has become the fastest growing triathlon series in the world. Ironman 70.3 races consist of a 1.9km / 1.2 mile swim, a 90-kilometre / 56-mile bike and a 21.1km /13.1 mile run, which adds up to 70.3 miles of total racing, hence the name. HiVelocity will also be organizing Aviva Singapore Ironman 70.3 Triathlon this year. In 2008, Hi-Tri has moved to make many improvements to the race. Swim, bike and run courses are being revised and improved, and other areas such as logistics, volunteers and merchandise are being further modified to bring to the participating triathlete, the ultimate Ironman 70.3 experience, all backed by the warmth, safety and security of Singapore.
Thus, I believe that HiVelocity has earned itself a high reputation from the successful events it had organised. Investors will be confident and willing to hire in HiVelocity.
Role of Events
The adidas Sundown Marathon would certainly draw a large crowd of audience. This will thus gain a positive public image and attracts residents and investors for the organiser, HiVelocity. This event also encourages interest in sports and healthy lifestyles. In addition, this successful event will incur future businesses as participants are confident in HiVelocity and may return to support other events held by them.
Due to sports being appealing to a relatively specialized audience, this event can actually help HiVelocity to attract quality audience, local and international, and thus increase their revenue and the length of stay. The vibrant event also encourages first and repeated visits to the different parts of Singapore they had raced through in the event.
HiVelocity, by hosting the event in Singapore will act as a huge catalyst and also a gateway for future festivals and events; both sporting and non-sporting to attract special interest tourists. It will stimulate business and support other attractions.
Stakeholders
The main stakeholders are the event organizers, the HiVelocity and Athlete's Circle. They invested a large amount of time and capital in planning, publicizing and executing the events. The organizers are concerned about ways to attract the relevant audiences to attend the marathon.
The Government, media, local communities and tourists will be interested in this adidas Sundown Marathon. The government is concerned about the tourist revenue during this season. As adidas Sundown Marathon is a hallmark event, it would definitely arouse high media interest and coverage because it is a big scale event. This event will appeal to both local communities and tourists since it’s the first ever night long-distance race event in Singapore, therefore it is a new and unique experience for them.
Contributors such as volunteers, sponsors, and suppliers are essential to this macro event, they are crucial to the success of adidas Sundown Marathon.
Target Market
The target market of the adidas Sundown Marathon are aspiring athletes and sport fans from all around the world at any age group as long as they are deemed fit. The youngest participant was 18 years old while the oldest participant was 74 years old. Majority of the participants (41%) were in the age group of 30-39.
Marketing Strategies
As HiVelocity understands what their target market want and constantly add value to it, it manages the 8'Ps' in the events marketing very well. The product is definitely the adidas Sundown Marathon and the experience that were being felt by the participants.
The starting and ending point of the race is Changi Point (Changi Beach Park), and the 42km route featured four uniquely named sections:
• String of Lights (22km) – This runs along Nicoll Drive, behind the Changi Airport runway and down towards East Coast Park
• Heartland Twist (7km) – This features 3 overhead bridges linking East Coast Park with Bedok Town Park and Bedok
• Waterfront Trail (6km) – This goes around the reservoir towards Pasir Ris
• Home Run (7km) – This last stretch is where runners will face a 300m uphill battle before reaching the finishing line.
HiVelocity makes sure that the paved track is safe for the participants, and at the same time, allow them to enjoy the scenery and atmosphere as they race. The programs involve night races that include individual race, 84km, 42km and team or corporate race, 10.5km.
The adidas Sundown Marathon has different pricings for respective distances of the race. They can register either register online at www.sundownmarathon.com or sign up in-person at Athlete's Circle. For online registrations, only VISA or MasterCard is accepted. For in-person registrations, cash, nets, VISA and MasterCard are accepted. Promotions were given to participants who booked earlier, from 01.03.08 – 30.04.08. Race packs were given out to the participants which is packed with the latest gadgets, running gears and tools to prepare them for the race. I think that it is a good idea to allow participants to book online because it is very convenient and easy for them. In order to encourage people to participate earlier, they have a duration called the 'early bird' period, which provides discount if they booked within the period.
Volunteers are integral to the success staging and constitute a large part
of any macro event. Thus, their participation is essential for adidas Sundown Marathon because their hospitality given to visitors would directly shapes participants' experience. I had actually come across some volunteers that day; they were really friendly and enthusiastic about this event. We even had some chats and took a few pictures of them.Of course, event sponsors played an important role in ensuring that the event was a success. They lessen the financial burden of the organizers and help to generate awareness for the event. The title sponsor is Addidas, followed by official sponsors, PowerBar, Polar, Ultimate Direction, Oakley, 100 Plus and Ice Mountain.
Rate the Organisation of the Event
My classmates and I went to the event to gain first-hand experience. It was an eye-opener; I did not expect that the response of this event would be so great. It was much organised with everything were nicely positioned, such as fruit and aid stations at designated place. This is to ensure the safety of the participants.
I think that it the adidas Sundown Marathon is very successful. It managed to capture the citizen's attention resulting in an overwhelming of 6029 participants taking part in the event. It was appealing to sport-lovers because it is the first ever night long-distance being organized in Singapore. So participants would want to be involved as this would be a brand new and unique experience. The timing and outdoor locations of the program were exciting and added to the atmosphere because participants can smell the scent of the fresh night breeze, feel the coolness of the air and also taste the satisfaction of completing their run.
To increase participation, the organizer could actually enable the general public to register for the marathon during the event itself. Because there might be people who want to sign up last minute. I realized that the starting place was rather crowded, thus I suggest they could employed more crowd controllers. Moreover, I think the organizer could place more emphasis on the decorations and settings of the starting point to make it grander. Not only that, people could easily identify where the starting point is.
Potential of the Event to Meet Tourist Demand
It definitely has the potential to attract tourists as it has a very obvious unique selling point, that is, being the first ever night long-distance in Singapore. Thus, I noticed that there were quite a number of tourists amongst the participants.
I would classify adidas Sundown Marathon as a Hallmark event. This event has a high potential of meeting tourism demands and it is large-scaled. With all these qualities of this event, the event would attract a niche market of tourists who are mainly sport-lovers.
The adidas Sundown Marathon has definitely attracted more tourists to visit Singapore. Tourists that are already in Singapore when the event commenced may be encouraged to extend their stay to attend the events.
How to Raise Value of Event to Align Singapore’s Tourism Mission
According to the Singapore Tourism Board website, last updated on 28 May 2008, Singapore’s tourism mission is "We develop & champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore."
The adidas Sundown Marathon was posed on 'Uniquely Singapore' website under the 'Event Calendar' to promote this event. Moreover, it was advertised by placing posters at bus-stops and even MRT stations. Thus, I think that this event was exposed to tourists to a certain extent.
However, this event is not as well-known to tourists compared to other events like Singapore Arts Festival. I think that there are more ways to increase the awareness level, such as publishing the event in magazines, or feature short clips of the previous race in ‘Uniquely Singapore’ promotional video to draw attention to the events.
This may encourage tourists to extend the length of stay in Singapore and create opportunities for the world to learn about Singapore’s multi-racial, multi-cultural society.
References:
1. HiVelocity website:
http://www.hivelocity.com.sg/index.php?page=thedream
2. Ironman website:
http://www.ironman703singapore.com/index.php?page=background
3. Sundown Marathon website:
http://www.sundownmarathon.com/index.php
4. Uniquely Singapore website: http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/apps/event_detail.html?pageName=DailyEvent&buttom=detail&eid=8564&eventType=1
5. STB website:
http://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/abo/abo.asp
Labels: adidas Sundown Marathon :)
