Sponsorship is a win when the brand, event and participants are such a good fit that it feels like they are made for each other. In April 2016, South Africa’s original energy sweet, Super C, began to roll out its sponsorship of the Happiest 5K on the Planet, The Color Run, South Africa’s biggest mass participation sporting platform.
Iconic South African brand meets novel, new event
Super C’s orange colour station boosts runners with energy just before the Happiest 5k finishes.
Participants start The Color Run wearing white and finish plastered in a myriad of colours. The final station before finishing and entering the festival zone is Super C’s. Tired but happy runners get covered with orange powder, energised with a roll of Super C’s glucose and vitamin C filled sweets and handed branded helium balloons. A professional photographer records all the action for social media memories later on.
During the course of the twelve month sponsorship covering the same amount of events, it is anticipated that approximately 100,000 fans will get doused in The Color Run Super C experience across the country.
The right sponsorship can ignite a brand
Today’s saturated sweet market means that Super C is determined to stand out in the crowded check-out aisles. The children of the seventies and eighties remember the brand fondly and today have children of their own. Reigniting that 40-year brand love and instilling it anew in today’s kids, is one of Super C’s main objectives.
And that’s why the Color Run is a perfect match. Marketed as a fun-filled, family event that is healthy, alcohol-free and taking place during the day, means that Super C’s main target market turns out in droves. This alignment makes the brand visible, available, relevant and loved.
Getting best results for client and event
Runners from the Soweto Color Run in South Africa showing why it is the Happiest 5k on the planet.
“The Color Run is all about having fun in a family environment and is closely aligned with the ethos of Super C which is also about boosting energy and enjoying yourself,” says Super C marketing manager Alison Tresling. “We are thrilled with this sponsorship and the feedback we have been getting from fans and colleagues is overwhelming.”
“We always try to maximise what we can get for our client while at the same time enhancing the actual event,” says Brand inc’s business unit director, Madelaine Biezanek. “It’s about going the extra mile to ensure that the sponsor is fully activated with the right exposure and the brand gets ROI on their marketing budget.
“Not only have we seen how much the runners love the Super C station but also internally, within Super C’s parent company, Premier FMCG (Pty) Ltd, that has an incredible fitness ethos, we have received very positive feedback they all love it.”
Innovative, full service turnkey sponsorship approach
Brand inc is an integrated communications agency that offers the whole package, enabling brands to tell a human story across relevant channels. Uniquely, its creative turnkey sponsorship approach means it is the go-to company in SA that offers a full sponsorship service from strategy to commercialisation, rights management, activation and PR.
The Color Run is a great example of what can be done. Super C’s sponsorship just proves the point.