ESP Properties and H+K power new Duracell partnership with Great Run Series

LONDON — 23 June, 2016 — WPP agencies Hill+Knowlton Strategies and ESP Properties have worked together with Duracell and the Great Run Series respectively on a new partnership deal that sees Duracell become a tier one sponsor of the Great Run Series in 2016.

H+K’s Sports & Partnership Marketing team represented Duracell and ESP Properties represented the Great Run Series.

A new type of collaboration within WPP

ESP Properties was launched in 2015 as WPP’s first company dedicated to serving rightsholders in the sports and entertainment sector. ESP helps rightsholders (including sports teams, tournaments and federations, venues, digital publishers, TV channels and more) take advantage of digital and data-driven changes in the media landscape and unlock greater value from their audiences and brand partnerships. H+K’s Sports & Partnership Marketing team has developed a similar offer for brands.

ESP Properties work in close collaboration with WPP agencies to create brand partnerships – with agencies like H+K advising and activating on the brand side and ESP Properties representing the rightsholders – and responds to a growing appetite for this kind of marketing activity.

Hill+Knowlton Strategies has been working with Duracell for a number of years across consumer and corporate communications work; including, from a partnership perspective, helping the brand activate its sponsorship of the 2015 Rugby World Cup last year. H+K will work with Duracell to deliver an integrated campaign across social, traditional and paid media channels during the Series.

The Duracell and Great Run Series partnership

Duracell is officially powering the 20 race series that sees 250,000 runners compete annually across the UK. The Series includes marquee events such as the Great Manchester Run, the Great Newham London Run (July 17) and the UK’s biggest running event, the world famous Great North Run (11 September).

The partnership will include the branding of pacemakers in the colours of the iconic Duracell Bunny at each race to champion their role in helping runners go for longer. The move into running for Duracell builds on the iconic heritage of the always-running Duracell Bunny – the symbol of the brand’s power and longevity.

Various activations will see Duracell helping fans watching the race push runners on to go further by providing editable #PowerBoards for them to write their own unique inspiring messages, and the construction of the ‘Duracell Mile’ – an in-event experience designed to give maximum motivation to runners when they need it most.

Jonathan Hill, Global Commercial Director & Head of EMEA at ESP Properties, said:

“We are very proud to have brokered the deal on behalf of the Great Run Series with Duracell. By repositioning the iconic Great Run Series as a media and content platform with a data-led approach, as well as remaining a leading series of national events, the Series will allow Duracell to reach highly-targeted audiences in new and innovative ways.

As WPP’s first company dedicated to serving rightsholders in the sports and entertainment sector, we have deep insights into what it takes to create successful partnerships. We look forward to working closely with more WPP agencies in the network to target and find the best possible brand partners for our rightsholder clients.”

Anthony Scammell, Senior Associate Director in Hill+Knowlton Strategies’ Sports & Partnership Marketing team, said:

“This is an exciting partnership for us to have consulted Duracell on and then be activating. The number of people of all ages taking part in mass participation sports events like the Great Run Series is growing rapidly in the UK. One of this property’s strengths is its consistently strong presence and frequency of races across the year, which is allowing Duracell to build ongoing and more personal dialogue with both runners and their supporters.

H+K is working with Duracell on an integrated campaign across social, traditional and paid media channels during the Great Run Series, applying its data-driven approach to deliver greater commercial return from the partnership.”

SOURCE: WPP