The world’s oldest annual marathon has returned to the winding streets of Boston for the 126th year, and top advertisers stood among the approximate 500,000 spectators with the help of JCDecaux’s out-of-home panels along the route.
It should come as no surprise that the Boston Marathon is a sought-after event for advertisers; 25,314 athletes representing 120 countries and all 50 U.S. states participated in this year’s race, with 24,918 making it to the finish line.
In addition to athletes and spectators, the 2022 marathon attracted nearly 10,000 volunteers from around New England and beyond. This influx of eyes provides advertisers with a can’t-miss opportunity for establishing meaningful connections between their brand images and this renowned event.
OOH is also an effective tool for meeting consumers throughout their venture to and from an event. This is why many brands secure an advertising presence near event locations as well as airports where they can meet arriving attendees, as was the case with OOFOS which advertised on our airport network at Boston Logan in addition to our downtown street furniture network.
Beyond the Boston Marathon, our urban OOH networks across the country are ideal for reaching a diverse audience of consumers at major events like concerts, parades, and festivals where they are most aware of their surroundings- and potentially near points of purchase.
Something that makes an event like the Boston Marathon so unique, however, is the tens of thousands of consumers standing idle near hard-to-miss advertising spaces, guaranteeing brand exposure to a mass audience.
While our static units offer advertisers the benefit of 100% share-of-voice within the ad space, our digital screens provide increased flexibility with ample opportunities for multi-messaging- an extremely valuable component for maintaining interest among waiting crowds.
Advertisers across categories leveraged our Boston OOH network to reach marathon attendees, but one of the most interesting campaigns was Degree; the popular deodorant brand created the first ever Metathon- a marathon within the metaverse that creates an inclusive virtual movement.
With our digital CIP units, Degree was able to drive awareness of this exciting event with the help of a QR-code that effectively drives immediate user-engagement in line with their overall campaign objective.
The Boston Marathon generates about $200 million for the greater Boston economy each year- a testament to the financial value that largescale events like this hold within urban markets. And just as the city benefits from the spending power of attendees, top advertisers benefit from unmatched exposure with the help of our Boston OOH network.