by Alfonz Juck
Great Run and Golazo join forcesBRUSSELS/NEWCASTLE (BEL/GBR): Important news for the running scene. Two of Europe’s largest mass participation sports businesses are collaborating to develop and market the “Great Run” event brand across the rest of the world. The Great Run Company, founded by Olympian and world record runner Brendan Foster, is forming a unique, imaginative and wide-ranging cooperation with Golazo. The sports company created by former international athlete Bob Verbeeck, owns and organises events in several European countries including Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France. The partnership potentially creates the world’s largest running event brand with 1.3 million participants in over 60 mass participation running events across Europe. The new alliance will combine the marketing assets of such iconic global events as the Great North Run, Great Manchester Run and the Great Edinburgh Run, together with the likes of the Golazo owned Rotterdam, Dusseldorf, Antwerp and Brussels Marathons. Starting in April 2017 the plan is to develop “Great Run”, with its brand position “The World’s Favourite Run” globally. The Great Run Company will continue to stage Great Run events in the UK and Ireland, Golazo will run them in the rest of Europe and the parties will establish a joint venture to promote the brand throughout the rest of the world. “This coming together of two like minded running brands will create something very special in the world of mass participation sport. It is an exciting new venture which will give millions of participants, existing and new, the opportunity to participate in a “Great Run” event. Our events are renowned for the great consumer experience they deliver year in year out and it will also create a new platform for brands to reach a massive audience with one commercial conversation,” says Brendan Foster. “Our companies have a lot in common. Both Brendan and I have a history in athletics, our companies are founded “by runners and for runners”, as we say. We share the same passion and the same mission: encouraging people to move. I’m looking forward to working with Brendan and his team to create a worldwide platform for runners and to export the Great Run brand to the rest of the world,” adds Bob Verbeeck.
RunBlogRun opines: Two of the finest producers of events in Europe have joined forces to grow the sport. It also may be that the size of the combined entities will make sense for global marketing brands to reach runners in Europe, Scotland and England. It will be fascinating to see how their alliances play out as the marketing of events and event media continue to evolve.
