Running for Boston

1. The 2013 Boston Marathon served as a global reminder that there are different types of terrorism and it can strike any place at any time. Once the initial shock of the bombings subsided, people worldwide accepted their fear, channeled their anger, and focused their efforts to show solidarity and reinforce confidence in public participation in similar city-wide events (Wilson, 2013). Nonetheless, Boston Marathon victims continue to face extensive medical and rehabilitation efforts, which expenses will predominantly be borne by them. The focus of this campaign will be to emphasize the unified spirit of runners by sharing the Boston Marathon with other major world cities – rather than limit the experience of the Boston Marathon to only those financially able to travel to Boston, this campaign seeks to share the Boston Marathon with the world by taking the Marathon to them! Global participation in the name of anti-terrorism efforts will serve to modify the Boston Marathon into the largest unified world-wide marathon and will ear-mark a portion of the proceeds for donation to cover medical costs of injured participants from the 2013 event.

2. The Boston Athletic Association heads the management and organization of the Boston Marathon.  With its inception in 1897, the current situation continues to promote the spirit which has grown along with the organization:  competition, resilience, and success (Kraszkiewicz, 2013).  In keeping with their original purpose, the BAA has announced dates for the 2014 event, has announced their contribution in the amount of $250,000 to the One Boston Fund—a fund organized to assist with the financial burdens victims of the 2013 event will experience due to medical and therapeutic costs—and has delivered a special invitation to the 2013 racers who were unable to cross the finish line to compete again in the 2014 Marathon (Boston Athletic Association, 2013).

3. In response to the attack, many other venues world-wide took note and made efforts to step up security at their own events.  However, city-wide events, such as marathons, cannot be held in stadium-style venues and, therefore, cannot be locked down in efforts to eliminate or reduce risk (Wilson). The following SWOT analysis presents the state of city-wide events:

Strengths:  The revelation that the bombers’ attack was a last minute decision cemented the reality to public-event participants that security measures cannot guarantee safety when there is no warning of an attack. Such revelation served to highlight the need for more public awareness and for individuals—both at public events and in everyday life—must be diligent in alerting authorities to happenings which may seem out of the ordinary.

Weaknesses: The ability for terrorists to strike at a moment’s notice makes protecting the public significantly more difficult. Consequences are not simply reduced safety but, also, increased fear among citizens worldwide.

Opportunities: The need to bolster confidence among nations and their citizens presents an ability to unify differing societies. The common need for safety and protection, coupled with the need for human socializing, can serve as a bonding opportunity as different societies share a common goal.

Threats:  The threat of terrorist attacks continue, and the possibility of increased attacks due to media coverage and “bragging rights” for terrorist groups serves as a constant concern whether people converge in a public forum or simply carry out their daily activities.

4. The date of the Boston Marathon corresponds to America’s Patriot’s Day celebration.  The efficiency and dedication of the emergency responders, as well as the non-emergency personnel, who saved many lives that day could be recognized by expanding the original purpose of the marathon to include patriots committed to common good rather than to a specific flag (Crimesider Staff, 2013). The primary goal of this campaign is to promote “Running for Boston” as a world-wide effort to unify our different societies against terrorism, with a secondary benefit being the ability to contribute financially to those who were directly harmed by the attack and attempt to ease their financial burdens resuling from their healing processes.

5. A significant contact with great potential to assist in this endeavor is the World Marathon Majors (“WMM”) organization. Their promotion of marathons and, particularly, reporting the top runners of marathons worldwide includes not only the Boston Marathon, but also the marathons in the cities of Tokyo, Berlin, London, Chicago and New York (World Marathon Majors, 2013). Collaboration with WMM would serve to reach the individuals dedicated to the sport of marathons, including the runners, the sponsors, the media, and supporting families and friends of the competitors.

6. The opportunities to communicate through this avenue provide an opportunity to bring attention to the suffering of terrorism victims as well as to the financial burden their recovery places on them and their families.  Highlighting their struggles may serve to increase awareness and appeal to the empathies of potential financial donors. Further, highlighting the ease with which the bombers carried out their attack can also serve to increase awareness of the necessity for the public’s assistance in helping authorities maintain safe environments for their citizens.  Running for Boston can serve to convey the need for unity. 

Public service messages posted on billboards, aired on television programs, aired through radio programs, and taught throughout the schooling system can serve to reach most individuals regardless of their access to a particular medium. The messages should convey not only the need for the public’s involvement, but also instructions as to what to look for, how to report concerns, and how to react during emergencies or attacks.

7. Generally, collaborative efforts among the Boston Athletic Association, the World Marathon Majors, governmental authorities and media outlets will provide the communication and group efforts.  Running for Boston can be promoted as a remembrance of the impacts of terrorism and, through this campaign, formulate effective educational programs to bring about awareness of efforts against terrorism and the necessity of the public’s involvement.

8. Tools to promote awareness and participation in Running for Boston are primarily already set. A news release announcing the campaign should be publicized on the websites for the Boston Athletic Association and the World Marathon Majors.  Appeals to world governmental departments charged with anti-terrorism efforts could provide additional news releases, as the Running for Boston promotional material is accepted by them and approved for distribution throughout their countries.  Educational campaigns can be promoted to governmental education offices, as well as to college and university administrators, and primary education outlets.  The focus of this campaign will be educating the public on anti-terrorism tactics, raising funds to assist the victims of terrorism attacks, and unity among nations in the common battle against terrorism.  

The various campaigns promoting this effort throughout the year will culminate in the annual Running for Boston marathon, which will in fact be numerous marathons held on the same day, at the same time (accommodating the varying time zones), and in major cities throughout the world, serving to unite marathoners and non-marathoners in their desire to safely engage in public gatherings, to remembering past victims of terrorism, and to raising money and awareness to combat terrorism.

9. The timeline to affect this campaign would include a news release announcing the project. This first release should be distributed now to coincide with the release of the last victim of the April 15, 2013 bombing. Follow-up with a more in-depth news story should be released within the following two to three weeks, announcing the formation of the effort and the intent to involve the various actors and authorities already discussed. As each actor or authority joins the effort, subsequent press releases can announce the growth of the effort.  Each publicity release should also include a timeline as to the progress toward the Running for Boston Marathon, incorporating announcements of which cities are involved and which sponsors have joined the effort.

10. Because the target audience of this campaign spans different countries and different socio-economic groups, the media campaigns must also be widespread. Financial allocations toward promotion will be spread through radio, television, internet, and traditional billboard/magazine/newspaper announcements.  The dominant expense in this mix would be the television and radio advertising, which would include not only the airtime but also the creation of the ads in the differing languages. Consequently, it's recommended in the United States that the bulk of advertisement should be through newspapers and websites, sponsor-placed announcements on their own websites, internet campaigns through Facebook, Twitter, and social sites geared toward runners, and, finally, press releases run through local newspapers.  Factoring the expense of establishing a web presence, the costs of developing a professional web page, advertising expenses charged by the various social sites, and the focus on other media for communication will result in television and radio costs, along with web-based advertising, of approximately five percent of anticipated net revenues gained from sponsorships by exercise- and lifestyle-related manufacturers as well as the entry fees collected from the participating marathoners (Inc.com, 2010).

11. Several issues should be planned for in planning this campaign.  First and foremost, will be the interest the campaign gathers from financial sponsors and the running community. Should an insufficient number of sponsors be inclined to support the effort, then the dominant source of funding will have to be drawn from the entry fees of the runners. Another related issue could be a lack of interest from the running world and the consequent insufficient funding through their entry fees. In either event, efforts will be stepped-up to draw the additional interest and a more intense focus can also shift to the stronger source of revenue while appealing to the empathies and outrage of potential donors to supplement the effort.

Other concerns are the safety issues to participants during the actual events. Speaking engagements or fund-raising events could potentially stoke terrorism efforts as those groups seek media attention. Of further concern would be the immense planning involved in organizing multiple-city routes and security teams. Joint planning opportunities and information-sharing sessions for best practices in public security could be accomplished utilizing up-to-date knowledge as well as the information from prior events.  Nonetheless, excessive planning cannot guarantee absolute safety and security and, as such, medical teams and temporary mobile-hospital stations will be incorporated at various points. 

12. The intensive effort which will be required to accomplish this campaign will require review at various stages to ensure that the campaign is meeting its objectives and, if not, to determine the best means to modify the plan to achieve the goal.  Whether the communication efforts are successful can be measured through internet social-media campaigns via reports of website visitors, email sign-ups, web followers, sponsorships and marathon entrants. More specifically, these data can be reviewed to determine whether a campaign in a particular city is stronger or weaker than others and what factors impacting those differences. 

The determination as to the success of the campaign will be the participation in the Running for Boston Marathon.   The final determination will be a successful marathon, funds for the financial contribution to medical and rehabilitation expenses for the 2013 Boston Marathon victims, and the safety and security for participants and supporters of the event.

References

Boston Athletic Association. (2013). History of the Boston Marathon. Retrieved from Boston Athletic Association: http://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/boston-marathon-history.aspx

Crimesider Staff. (2013, April 15). Boston Marathon Explosion Update: Security Stepped Up Worldwide After Boston Blasts. Retrieved from CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57579722-504083/boston-marathon-explosion-update-security-stepped-up-worldwide-after-boston-blasts/

Inc.com. (2010, August 26). Advertising Budgets. Retrieved from Inc.com: http://www.inc.com/encyclopedia/advertisingbudget.html

Kraszkiewicz, N. (2013, April 15). Boston Marathon Bombing: 3 Possible Terrorist Connections. Retrieved from PolicyMic.com: http://www.policymic.com/articles/35221/boston-marathon-bombing-3-possible-terrorist-connections

Wilson, S. (2013, April 16). Security in Focus at Worldwide Sporting Events after Boston Marathon Bombing. Retrieved from Washington Times: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/16/security-focus-major-sporting-events-after-boston-/?page=all

World Marathon Majors. (2013, April 21). World Marathon Majors Events. Retrieved from World Marathon Majors: http://worldmarathonmajors.com/US/series/leaderboard/men/2012-2013/