This is a public relations strategic plan for a marathon. The names of the marathon, cities, and charities have been replaced with XXXX.

1. Darren Copeland
Strategic Planning Paper for Area Marathon
MCOM 4550
3.14.2007

2. 1. The XXXXXXXXXX Marathon is an organization that is trying to promote
XXXXX Avenue and the Metro area, as well as raising money for charity,
by hosting a world class marathon. The marathon organization is in its
second year with it’s main tactic of putting on a marathon for over 5000
runners participating in the inaugural race. The XXXXXXXXXX Marathon
organization, put together by the three Mayors of XXXXX , XXXXX and
XXXXX, is working to highlight the uniqueness of XXXXX Avenue, the
nation’s longest continuous street. Besides highlighting XXXXX Avenue,
the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon donates its money to the XXXXXXXXXX
Charity, which helps schools and kids around the state.
2. Business objectives for the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon include:
i.Increase the number of participants in the marathon by 20% each year.
ii.Increase the number of XXXXX Avenue Businesses involved with the race by
20 over the next year..
iii.Increase the number of visitors to XXXXX Avenue by 10% in the next12
months.
iv.Increase the amount of money given to the XXXXXXXXXX charity by 20%
from last year.
3. Issues, strategies, and policies that have been, or need to be addressed.
Form alliances with XXXXX Avenue businesses.
Revisit sweeping up the back of the marathon.
Highlighting XXXXX Avenue and tying it in to the race.
Organizing the increase of runners and volunteers
Hosting the 2007 United States Wheelchair and the U.S.A. Track and Field
National Club Relay Championships.
Keeping all three cities, XXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX, involved in the race.
Addressing negative perceptions of XXXXX Avenue.
4. Internal and external publics for the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon

3. Internal
•Employees
•Volunteers
•Mayors of XXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX
•XXXXX Avenue Businesses
•XXXXXXXXXX Charity
External
•XXXXX Avenue Businesses
•Runners
•Potential Volunteers
•Metro area residents living near XXXXX Avenue
•Metro area residents not living near XXXXX Avenue
•Local Media
•National Media
•Running Media
•Other Area Marathon
•Sponsors
5. Internal and external perceptions of the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon
Internal
•Employees
Positive Perceptions
XXXXXXXXXX Marathon is a charitable event
XXXXXXXXXX Marathon is a fun event
Helping revitalize XXXXX Avenue is worthy goal
Able to get the cities of XXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX
work together
Negative Perceptions
Takes up a lot of time
Working with large groups of people is stressful
•Volunteers
Positive Perceptions
It’s a worthy goal
A part of a big event
Helping the community
Negative Perceptions
Not trained to deal with problems
Not getting paid
Lots of work
•Mayors of XXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX
Positive Perceptions

4. Part of a worthy cause
Working in a bi-partisan manner
Great publicity
Negative Perceptions
Name attached, but no control over event
Seen as creating a traffic hassle
•XXXXX Avenue Businesses
Positive Perceptions
Part of revitalization effort
Brings lots of new people to XXXXX Avenue
Free positive publicity
Negative Perceptions
Only a temporary boost
Too much traffic
Big clean up
The business may not have any connection to a
marathon or running in general
•XXXXXXXXXX Charity
Positive Perceptions
Large perpetuating money source
Three cities helping cause
Positive publicity
Negative Perceptions
XXXXX Avenue not a “kids” place
External
•Runners
Positive Perceptions
Interesting race course, it’s a straight line
Championship race for wheelchairs and clubs
Lots of runners in Colorado, not a lot of Marathons
Negative Perceptions
High altitude
Sweeping back of race to reopen road causes runners
to feel “kicked out of race”
•Metro area residents
Positive Perceptions

5. Good for the image of the Metro area
A worthy cause
A “healthy” event for health conscious community
Negative Perceptions
A big hassle
Creates big mess
•Local Media
Positive Perceptions
Good positive local story
Want to help worthy cause
Public needs to know about a big event like this
Negative Perceptions
Takes man power away from other news
Hard for media not sponsoring event to cover it
Running not a “marquee” event for live coverage
•National Media
Positive Perceptions
Unorthodox race is good angle
Co-operation among politicians of different parties is
a nice human interest angle
Negative Perceptions
Not a “marquee” event
Don’t usually cover marathons, not even big ones
•Running Media
Positive Perceptions
Colorado is big for running
Hosting Wheelchair and club U.S. Championships
Negative Perceptions
Not a large race at the moment
No big name runners participating
•Other Area Marathon
Positive Perceptions
Helps build running base
Can work off each other to make both races great
“Friendly” rivalry breeds “friendly” competition
Negative Perceptions

6. “Not so friendly competition” might get nasty and
personal
Creates a “one or the other” scenario they might lose
Might make their race look unorganized or
amateurish
•Sponsors
Positive Perceptions
Money goes to a good cause
Marathon organization is a local product
Negative Perceptions
Risk with being associated with XXXXX Avenue
Race not as big as others
6. Opportunities to relay information from or about the organization
•Running publications present the opportunity to use the U.S. Wheelchair and
Club Championships as an example of the credibility and respectability of the
race
•Contacts with media race sponsors
•Make notable entrants available to radio and television morning shows
•XXXXX Avenue’s long and history presents many newsworthy and interesting
media opportunities
•Using the mayors for personal appearance opportunities
7, 8, 10-12. (Grouped by business objective)
The first business objective is to increase the number of participants in the
marathon by 20% in the next year.
The communication goal is to persuade new participants to enter
the race.
Last year there were 5000 participants in the race. To fulfill the
goal, the communication objective is to persuade 1000 new
participants to enter this year.
The theme for this objective is that the XXXXXXXXXX
Marathon is a unique race that whose proceeds go to
charity.

7. The first strategic consideration is the need to
increase media contact with non-sports media
outlets.
A tactic that can be used to address this
strategic consideration is to make notable
entrants available to local media outlets for
interviews. An example would be to have last
year’s women’s champion interviewed on a
female oriented morning radio program.
The second strategic consideration is the need to
increase media contact with running media.
A tactic that can be used is to have members
of the U.S. Wheelchair and Club Championship
teams be featured in running publications.
The angle could be the struggles they have had
to overcome in order to be able to participate
in marathons.
A tactic that the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon
uses is a first time runner’s diary that they
publish on their website. This lets new
runners understand that their anxieties about
running a marathon are not unique, and these
worries shouldn’t stop someone from
entering.
The third strategic consideration is the need to
increase awareness of marathon’s year-round
fitness programs.
The XXXXXXXXXX Marathon organization
uses a controlled media tactic by giving
training tip articles on its website from the
University Sports Medical Center.
Additionally, they also have information on
their training programs on their website.
The second business objective is to increase the number of XXXXX Avenue
Businesses involved with the race by 20 over the next year.
The communication goal is to persuade XXXXX Avenue businesses to get
involved with XXXXXXXXXX Marathon organization events.
The communication objective is to persuade twenty XXXXX
Avenue businesses to become involved with the organization in
the next year.

8. The theme for this objective is that the XXXXXXXXXX
Marathon organization believes that the revitalization of
XXXXX Avenue is a worthy goal, and wants to be involved.
The strategic consideration for this objective is
to partner with XXXXX Avenue businesses to
highlight the unique and interesting nature of race.
A tactic for this strategy might be having
special events at certain places to promote the
XXXXXXXXXX Marathon organization. An
example would be to have a “ten mile party”
held at the business located at the ten mile
mark of the race.
The third business objective is to increase the number of visitors to XXXXX
Avenue by 10% in the next12 months.
The communication goal is to persuade XXXXX Metro area residents that
XXXXX Avenue is a great place to spend time.
The communication objective is to persuade 50,000 XXXXX Metro
residents to visit XXXXX Avenue businesses in the next year.
The theme for this objective is that XXXXX Avenue is much
better than it has been. If you haven’t seen the “new”
XXXXX Avenue, you need to visit.
The first strategic consideration would be to
partner with XXXXX Avenue businesses to recognize
unique anniversaries in XXXXX Avenue's history.
A tactic for this strategy might be having a
guided walking tour of XXXXX Avenue that
people could take that would give them a
history of the street.
The second strategic consideration would be
creating incentives for people to come to XXXXX
Avenue to shop.
A tactic might be to hold seasonal events and
discounts at XXXXX Avenue businesses
available to volunteers, participants, and
people aware of the XXXXX XXXXX
Marathon.

9. The fourth business objective is to increase the amount of money given to the
XXXXXXXXXX charity by 20% from last year.
The communication goal is to persuade sponsors and donors to give
more money.
The communication objective is to persuade sponsors and donors
to increase money given to the XXXXXXXXXX charity by 20% in the
next year
The theme could be that the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon
organization is a 501 Non-profit organization which means,
not only will you be helping local children with your
donations, and helping to revitalize XXXXX Avenue, your
donation is tax deductible.
A strategy consideration would be to recognize
sponsors who increase their donation amounts.
A tactic would be to have a mayor of the cities
involved give an award to the business that
would be covered by the local media,
but created by the XXXXX XXXXX
Marathon organization.
9. The priorities for these communication goals are as follows:
A. Persuade new participants to enter the race.
When people see that the marathon is not just
a one time event but is in the community all
year round, it creates positive feelings about
the marathon. Additionally, people will be
more likely to get involved in the program if
they see others running down the street
regularly. This is a high priority and should be
implemented immediately if it hasn’t been already.
B. Persuade XXXXX Avenue businesses to get involved with
XXXXXXXXXX Marathon organization events.
It’s important the XXXXX Avenue businesses are on board
with the marathon and this is a good way for the
XXXXXXXXXX Marathon to work with the
businesses in a way that doesn’t make the
businesses have to do all the work. A winning
situation that should be implemented in the next 1-
2 years

10. C. Increase the number of visitors to XXXXX Avenue by 10% in
the next 12 months.
This will take a little work to get going. It is
not that people need to know about shopping,
but that the shopping experience is a good one. An
increase is visitors will show that the XXXXXXXXXX
Marathon is helping them. This should be
implemented in the next two years.
D. Increase the amount of money given to the XXXXX XXXXX
charity by 20% from last year.
Increasing the amount of money given to the
XXXXXXXXXX charity is a priority, but it is
dependent on the other communication goals. If
participation increases as does participating
businesses, there will be more money to give. This
should be implemented in the next two years.
11. Additional Strategic considerations for the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon
Action Strategies
Organizational Performance – The performance of the
organization is important, but it is not something that needs
to be highlighted yet. This is a bad strategy for the
organization at this time.
Audience participation – This is a marathon, so audience
participation is a key aspect. The marathon needs not just
runners, but volunteers and businesses to participate as well.
This is a good strategy for the organization.
Special event – Not only is the race a special event, but there
are plenty of other opportunities for putting on a special
event. This is a good strategy for the organization.
Alliances and Coalitions – The marathon needs alliances and
coalitions, be it donors, sponsors, the XXXXX Avenue businesses,
or the three cities involved. This is a good strategy for the
organization.
Sponsorships – Sponsors are very important so this is a good
strategy for the organization.
Activism – The organization is not using persuasive
communication, and doesn’t want to alienate anyone, so this
is a bad strategy for the organization.

11. Communication Strategies
Newsworthy information – The marathon itself is a
newsworthy event, but there are other opportunities for
stories relating to the marathon to be news worthy. This is a
good strategy for the organization.
Transparent communication - Transparent communication is
always a plus, but it is not really necessary for the marathon.
A good strategy for building trust with the people the organization
deals with.
13. Evaluation Techniques for the Business Objectives
The evaluation technique for the first business objective which is
to increase the number of runners participating in the XXXXX
XXXXX Marathon is a simple quantitative evaluation. If we have
1000 new runners, which would be 20% of the 5000 participants
that took part last year, the organization will have met the
objective.
The evaluation technique for the second business objective which
is to increase the number of XXXXX Avenue Businesses involved
with the organization by 20 over the next year is also a
quantitative technique. If the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon
organization can persuade twenty new XXXXX Avenue businesses
to get involved they will have met their second business objective.
The evaluation technique for the third business objective which is
to increase the number of visitors to XXXXX Avenue by 10% in the
next12 months will be a bit more difficult. I would survey the
businesses on XXXXX Avenue to find out how many sales they had
for the previous year. I would then ask those businesses to keep
track of how many sales they had for this year and compare the
results. If the numbers show a 10% increase in the number of
patrons who completed a transaction, then the business objective
will be met. By continuing this survey over a three to four year
period, the results should become more accurate.
The evaluation technique for the fourth business objective which
is to increase the amount of money given to the XXXXXXXXXX
charity by 20% from last year is, again, a quantitative technique.
The total amount of money given last year can be compared to the
amount given this year, and once adjusted for inflation, can be
measured. If the final sum for this year is 20% more than last year,
then the organization will have met this business objective.
14. Estimated Timeline

12. The goals should be put in place as soon as possible. The three
mayors kicked of the 2007 XXXXXXXXXX Marathon on March
13th, so the objective of persuading runners to participate
should start immediately. The organization has already started
the new runner diary and training sessions. As for getting notable
participants on local non-sports media, it takes a bit of time for
some of the interviews to happen, the athletes’ schedules must be
collected and then producers should be called. This should start
happening before April 1st.
The objective of persuading XXXXX Avenue businesses to get
involved with the organization should also happen as soon as
possible. The organization should come to a decision on some
XXXXX Avenue historical dates to target for events, as well as find
out which businesses are near certain mile markers of the race by
April 1st at the latest. The events need to be scheduled by the first
week in April so there will be ample time to prepare and publicize
the events.
The business objective regarding visitors to XXXXX Avenue
should also start immediately. It will take time for XXXXX Avenue
business to collect the data so they should be given as much time
as possible. The data should begin with the first fiscal quarter
after the race, which is the fourth quarter. Once that data has
been collected, the businesses should be reminded to keep track of
the sales beginning in the fourth fiscal quarter which starts July 1.
The business objective which is to increase the amount of
money given to XXXXXXXXXX Charity can be put off for a until
after the race, but sponsors should be contacted immediately to
see if there are possibilities of them paying for sponsorships of
the events leading up to the race. Once the race is finished and
the money from the entry fees calculated, the actual percent
increase or decrease should be evident. From that data, the
organization can start more aggressively finding sponsors to help
next year’s lead in events.
15. Anticipated Resources
There are six employees working at the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon
organization
There are the three city sponsors and the mayors from those cities
There are two title sponsors
There are three presenting sponsors

13. There are five corporate sponsors
There are the businesses along XXXXX Avenue
There is the XXXXXXXXXX Marathon website
There are the U.S Wheelchair and U.S. Club championship organizations
There are the workers and volunteers from the 2006 race
There are the XXXXXXXXXX Charities
There needs to be survey instructions to be given to the XXXXX Avenue
businesses
There needs to be a computer with internet to distribute press releases
and other communications
There needs to be volunteers to research and give walking tours of
XXXXX Avenue
There needs to be an accountant to count and disperse the money
There needs to be an office for the organization
There needs to be awards to give to sponsors who donate more money.
There needs to be office supplies.