Last week I was doing a visit to the College of New Jersey with my daughter when I noticed a banner for the Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk near the campus tennis courts. It seemed a little out of place but I remembered that a few weeks ago the company, which is publicly traded in the US and has research facilities in Princeton, had signed off on a large scale brand partnership with Izod Indy Car. Novo Nordisk, became INDYCAR’s official diabetes care provider in 2012, increased its promotion of the sport by sponsoring the Emergency Care Vehicle for 2013. The company also will move its Race With Insulin display, designed to raise awareness of diabetes to visitors, into the INDYCAR Fan Village.
The company also sponsors a cycling team with a focus on health and well-being aimed towards diabetes care, so could they be making steady inroads into the sports sponsorship area, a spot where big pharma has spent millions in effective partnerships in the last few years? The answer appears to be yes.
The latest announcement came Thursday, when Novo Nordisk announced they will serve as an official sponsor of The New Jersey Marathon, May 5 at the Jersey Shore. The firm will sponsor the Novo Nordisk Health & Fitness Expo on May 3 and 4 and is designated as the Official Pharmaceutical Company of the event.
The partnership aligns with the New Jersey Marathon’s theme for 2013 of “Up & Running,” emphasizing its resolve to conduct the weekend’s festivities and help in the region’s recovery efforts. USRS and The New Jersey Marathon earlier announced a series of initiatives termed “Restore the Shore,” to be implemented to help the region’s recovery efforts from the lasting effects of Hurricane Sandy. The Marathon, as part of a full weekend of running- and health-related activities, winds through eight towns on the New Jersey shore, each of which suffered damage from the October storm. The race, which starts at historic Monmouth Park in Oceanport, continues through Monmouth Beach, Deal, Allenhurst, Lock Arbour, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Long Branch
The Novo Nordisk Health & Fitness Expo features many seminars and activities for the serious athlete, including programming designed to help runners prepare for proper recovery. Designed not just for avid runners but for anyone who values maintaining good health, the Expo includes yoga classes, sessions on nutrition, activities especially for kids and more. The free event is part of The New Jersey Marathon’s commitment to educate, give back and thank the local communities that support the race. This ties in to the event’s membership in the statewide ShapingNJ initiative to prevent and control obesity.
The small subtle sign on the heart of the TCNJ campus, along with this sponsorship, shows that the pharmaceutical giant is looking for cost efficient, big impact partnerships in the state which they call home in the US. Rather than doing large corporate sports spends to start, the approach is to go to the grassroots and work directly with entities that will have a string interest in health and well-being. College campuses and large scale fitness events, especially one with such a special message this year, make great sense as a way to test the waters for effectiveness. Will this mean that Novo Nordisk may look to more road races and cycling events in and around The Garden State for sponsorship down the line? A triathlon here or there perhaps? Could be. One thing is for sure, the company, with a long history of effective global grassroots marketing, is probably not going to suddenly dive deep into the sports sponsorship pool. Maybe down the line they could end up where other pharma brands have gone…the big time football atmosphere of Rutgers, the lure of the Red Bulls, even the savvy marketing platform of the Devils.
However for now it appears the brand will take steady steps to see how the waters are in the state and measure their ROI. If it works, like any good competitor they can step up…other college campuses for grassroots sponsorships, additional outdoor fitness events. But for now, a careful measured step is first, and it could not come at a better time for the official marathon of the State or for the Shore community, which is in the midst of critical recovery and can use the race and its partners as a salve to continue to heal from the wound of Sandy.
Nice move by the brand, great addition for the Marathon.
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