The HUman Sponsorship
Client: Bank of America
Role: Group Creative Director
Clio GOld - x1
Creative Effectiveness
CLIO SILVER - x3
EXPERIENCE/ACTIVATION
BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT/CONTENT
OUT OF HOME
CLIO BRONZE - X1
Social GOOD
Cannes shortlist - x3
sustainability developement GOALS
MEDIA CHANNELS USE OF EVENTS
MEDIA CULTURE & CONTEXT
WINNER
PUBLIC SERVICE PRINT - x1
SHORTLIST
DIGITAL ONLINE VIDEO - x1
POSTERS - x1
FINALIST
INTEGRATION in
Financial Services
The Boston Marathon® is the world's most elite road race, attracting the fastest runners on the planet. Yet, it also opens the course to charity runners, each committed to raising up to $15,000. If they can’t raise it, they must pay it out of their own pocket. This task is impossibly difficult, especially since they are limited to their own personal network of friends and family. In their first year as the presenting sponsor of the Boston Marathon®, Bank of America was operating in a low-trust category, with falling brand favorability, so they had to show up in a new way to gain back trust. This iconic race presented a real opportunity to flip the script on what it means to be a sponsor into something way more meaningful. We revolutionized an expected logo-slapped sponsorship into an eye-opening spotlight, honoring the runners driving change for their communities. We shifted Bank of America’s entire media budget to be a platform to tell these runners’ heartfelt stories and amplify their fundraising networks.
By leveraging Bank’s media, employees, and national reach, the campaign supercharged each runner's fundraising potential, sparking 268,000 donations, generating a record-breaking $71.9 million for 243 charities, increased brand favorability by +5.7 ppts, and forever changing the way marathons fundraise.
:60 TV
Meet Philip, running to cure childhood cancer
:60 TV
Meet Therese, running to improve maternal health
:60 TV
Meet Peter, running as a duo team with Yosef to empower people with disabilities
Print with Purpose.
The day after the Boston Marathon, when the front cover of the local paper would typically feature names of the elite runners, we instead highlighted every single charity runner, by name… all 3,101 of them.
Credits