ASICS is a brand with a fine history not just in running sports, but also in the innovative use of technology. So at the Gold Coast Airport Marathon, a grueling 42km run they created a powerful demonstration of running and technology by connecting runners with their supporters like never before.
Runners were given RFID timing chips to connect their runs with Facebook. This allowed them to automatically post pre-written messages for their networks to enjoy, along with distance run/remaining, live timing, and location data plotted on Google Maps, at checkpoints throughout the race. Similarly, friends and loved ones were able to upload videos of support, which were triggered and played as runners approached giant screens along the course. 😎
As a result, 2000 (15%) runners connected their run with Facebook, 6000 messages of support were uploaded, 1000 video messages were created at the event and 35% of runners received video support. Additionally this generated thousands of unique status updates from inside the race, the campaign microsite received 25,850 unique visitors and tens of thousands of return comments from friends and family.