A Third City campaign

1. Running on empty
A Third City campaign

2. 2
© Third City
James Ellington is one of Britain’s most talented
athletes. Currently the second fastest sprinter in the
UK, he was part of the victorious GB relay team in last
year’s European Team Championships, yet the only
major sprinter without a sponsorship deal. This meant
he was unable to commit full-time to training for Olympic
qualification.
James approached Third City for help to attract a
sponsor to cover the £30K he needed to cover living an
training costs.
The challenge
Running on empty, January 2012

3. 3
© Third City
We landed on the novel idea to put James’ sponsorship
bid on eBay. As well as drawing media attention to his
plight this would allow us to put a time limit on
submissions and promote rivalry between potential
sponsors.
To announce the bid, we staged a photo-call at Crystal
Palace Stadium. Media interest was huge, with TV
crews from all over the world attending. The Evening
Standard was allowed to break the story early and
James was interviewed on Channel 4 News that
evening.
Our approach
Running on empty, January 2012

4. 4
© Third City
The following day’s coverage was extensive with
highlights including BBC Breakfast, and a DPS in the
Daily Telegraph.
During the the week long auction we used James’
Twitter feed to seed information about how the bid was
going. These tweets were picked up and run by news
outlets as the story progressed. We also engaged with
supporters of the bid, encouraging them to spread the
story far and wide.
When the auction closed the top bid was a hoax.
However, we negotiated an exclusive with the Daily
Telegraph to dramatise James’ disappointment, adding
further momentum to the campaign.
The story unfolds…
Running on empty, January 2012

5. 5
© Third City
Meanwhile, we had also received private approaches
from brands interested in James. One brand, King of
Shaves, had made contact early in the process via
Twitter and we judged that there was an excellent fit
with the athlete, given its challenger posture towards
brands like Gillette, which rely strongly on high profile
athletic endorsement.
A second announcement unveiled James as the face of
King of Shaves, again staged at Crystal Palace with the
founder, Will King.
James is now a full-time athlete and with the support of
King of Shaves is confidently expected to qualify for the
Olympics.
A successful result
Running on empty, January 2012

6. 6
© Third City
Running on empty, January 2012

7. 7
© Third City
www.thirdcity.co.uk
twitter.com/@third_city
graz@thirdcity.co.uk
twitter.com/ @grazbelli
mark@thirdcity.co.uk
twitter.com/ @markrlowe
Contact us
Running on empty, January 2012