Holding the Guinness world record as the largest annual fund raising event, The London Marathon has raised over £450 million for charity since it began in 1981. Considered a highlight of both the sporting and charity calendar, the marathon is as well supported by the British public as One Direction in an all-girls school.
Social platforms became the perfect tool to both support and promote the runners. For any charity or indeed celebrity, it’s a veritable PR dream come true. However, this year saw was a marked difference in social activity compared to that of the 2012 event, as mentions of the London Marathon increased by 40 per cent on the run up to race day compared to that of 2012.
This can undoubtedly be attributed to the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15th. This year’s marathon was of course unlike any other in its 32-year history, as thousands of competitors and spectators observed a 30-second silence ahead of the starting gun in remembrance of the casualties in Boston. Also, in an act of solidarity, for every competitor who crossed the finishing line, race organisers Virgin pledged £2 for every finisher to ‘The One Fund’ set up to raise money for victims of the explosions.
Twitter Trends
This year Katherine Jenkins, who was running for her late father, proved to be the celebrity featured most popularly in Twitter re-tweets. Twitter was the main driving force of social media interaction for The London Marathon, with the hashtag #londonmarathon shared 2,199 times over the run up to the Marathon – with 66 per cent of the total being shared on the day and starting to trend.
Charities using Vine at the Virgin London Marathon
Vine was bought by Twitter earlier this year, making the 2013 London Marathon the first where the service could be used as a promotional tool for charities. Although the six-second video app was not adopted by the majority of brands this year, there were a few who used it successfully, paving the way for others in the future once its popularity picks up.
After stories from the Marathon
‘15 of the Marathon’s Best Costumes’ are a staple each year and this year was no different. From The Independent to Huffington Post, news articles chronicling this year’s top Marathon outfits are a steady and sure-fire way to create a sharable story.
Twitter users are already re-tweeting the Metro’s ‘Gallery: 15 of the Best London Marathon Outfits’. Needless to say, users’ favourite images are starting their circulation around Twitter including this bad boy!