Duracell gets up and running with its Running Bunnies and Hill + Knowlton’s strategy

Duracell has announced it is an Official Partner of the 2016 Great Run Series, as part of a new campaign to help runners ‘Unlock the Power Within’.

Duracell is officially powering the 12 race series that sees 180,000 runners compete annually across the UK. The Series includes marquee events such as the Great Manchester Run, the Great Newham London Run – which concludes with a lap inside the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – and the UK’s biggest running event, the world famous Great North Run. The partnership will include the branding of pace makers 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. The campaign will see Duracell focus on helping ordinary runners unlock their power within to go further and longer, just like Duracell products do. It will be latest entry into the sporting arena from a brand with significant heritage in sports partnerships, most recently as official tournament provider to the Rugby World Cup 2015 where it launched the successful #PowerCheck campaign.

Duracell used Hill + Knowlton Strategies to broker the partnership and will continue to work with the agency to deliver an integrated campaign across social, traditional and paid media channels during the 2016 Great Run Series. Various activations will see Duracell providing runners both at Great Run events and beyond with tools to help them maximise their own performance and reach their personal goals. Activations will include:

• Turning the pacemakers at the Great Run Series into ‘Running Bunnies’ in the style of the iconic Duracell mascot
• Helping fans watching the race push runners on to go further by providing editable #PowerBoards for them to write their own unique inspiring messages
• The construction of the ‘Duracell Mile’, an in-event experience designed to give maximum motivation to runners when they need it most

Alex Haslam, Duracell UK Marketing Manager said: “One of the key successes of the partnership is the strong and instantly understandable link between Duracell and running. The Great Run Series gives us a wide reaching platform to bring our brand messages to life to an engaged audience.”

“Historically, our connection to running has been strong, with the Running Bunny being an iconic symbol of how Duracell products last longer than the competition and with over 30 years of experience, Great Run is the running series that lasts longer too! With this campaign we’ll be helping runners across the UK, from experienced marathoners to complete novices, unlock the power within and take their performance to a new level.”

Nicky Homes, commercial director at the Great Run Company said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Duracell to the Great Run family. We’re looking forward to working with them to inspire the runners of the UK to get out and run, and achieve their personal goals. The addition of another leading global brand to the Great Run sponsorship portfolio shows the continued strength of the series, which sees more and more UK runners taking part at our events every year.”