Days before she was to run the Rock ’n’ Roll Dallas Half Marathon, runner Katrina Hull got some news that thrilled her. She learned that by spending some money on running gear, she would be entitled to use an upscale restroom trailer on race day.
“I’ve never been so excited about a bathroom,” she said. “I was definitely willing to shell out $50 for this privilege.”
At a previous race, Hull spent 45 minutes in line to use a standard portable restroom that was available to the general public, and she nearly missed the starting gun. She called the upscale restroom trailers, “the best thing to appear at start lines since shoelaces.”
FOUR-WAY PARTNERSHIP
For runners who qualified to use the upscale restrooms, United Site Services delivered one 24-foot trailer, one 16-foot trailer, two 300-gallon freshwater tanks and one 20kw generator to the Rock ’n’ Roll Dallas Half Marathon. They were contracted to provide the trailers for the event not by the marathon itself, but by Brooks Sports Inc., the running shoe and apparel manufacturer.
Brooks has sponsored the VIP Porta Potty program at various races throughout the country including the 2010 Rock ’n’ Roll Mardi Gras Marathon in New Orleans and the 2008 and 2009 Marine Corps Marathons in Washington, D.C. They contract with the restroom trailer provider and partner with a local retailer of their shoes and apparel. Getting trailers to the starting line is a cooperative effort between Brooks, a retailer, a PRO and race planners.
For the Dallas half-marathon, Brooks partnered with Luke’s Locker, a sporting goods retailer with eight stores in Texas. Luke’s not only distributed the passes to qualifying customers, but also staffed the race, helping with line control and checking to make sure no unqualified runners use the trailers. They also handed out little goodies, like mints, to qualified runners in the area of the restroom trailers.
GETTING THE WORD OUT
Registered runners are informed of the VIP Porta Potty program in the “final instructions” sent out about a week before for the race. Brooks says the program is a way to thank runners for choosing their products and rewarding them for their hard work preparing for the race. They entice the racers to “earn” the VIP pass by describing the facilities as “comfortable, climate-controlled restroom trailers set up at the starting line” with “running water, flushing toilets,” and more.
At the Dallas race, there were two ways to access the VIP restrooms, either spend $50 on Brooks products at Luke’s Locker stores the week before the race or $150 on qualifying merchandise at the race event’s Health and Fitness Expo held the two days before the race.
Either way, runners received a sticker for their race bib, which was their marathon-day pass to the restroom trailers.
Tiffany Herman, a marketing/PR coordinator for Brooks Sports Inc. says the number of stickers given out depends on the size and number of restroom trailers secured for a race, and the size of the race.
“Some races have 25,000 participants, where others are closer to 10,000,” she says. “All those factors make a difference. For the Dallas race we handed out about 900 passes, and about 350 runners used the facilities.”
OTHER APPLICATIONS?
All of this talk of “pay per use” restroom trailers got me wondering … with some thought and planning, could this type of promotion work for other special events? It would probably have to start with you, the PRO, researching and proposing the idea to event coordinators and finding a willing third party. But imagine: If your company was already providing standard restrooms for an auto race, would an auto parts store foot all or part of the bill for a trailer if the event would agree to promote the “spend $50 at XYZ Auto Parts and get a VIP restroom pass” concept? How about pairing a rock concert with a music store or beer retailer? Once you start brainstorming, many partnerships are possible.
It would require creative thinking, planning and, let’s face it, hard selling at first, but it could be an effective way for you to get your upscale units rented out more frequently. And having them rented out is the best advertising there is, because for most people, seeing — or using — is believing, and once they experience the luxury, they won’t want to settle for less. I know Katrina will be disappointed from now on when she has to stand in line to use a standard restroom before a race. In fact, that’s why she agreed to be quoted for this column.
“If I can help make this the race norm for restrooms, I want to do my part,” she said.
