The Company
The heart of iTRI365 is within the communities they serve. By promoting health and wellness iTRI365 has helped take the stress out of race day. Starting out as a triathlon coaching company, they recognized the need and opportunity to bring a timing and event production company to East Texas, which took off and expanded into the Houston and Dallas areas. The team consists of founders Cori Moore and Emerald Bragg, General Manager Meredith Bryans and support staff, Aubrey Allie and Natalie Battles.
The Decision
In early 2020 when they realized they wouldn’t be operating as normal due to new restrictions the team had to decide how they could still serve their community.
“As a company, we have always had a strong 'support local' mentality and wanted to find a way to give back to local small businesses who we knew had been drastically affected during this time” says Emerald Bragg, co-founder of iTRI365.
General Manager, Meredith Bryans adds, “We knew that we wanted to encourage physical activity in our community while at the same time help put dollars back into local businesses instead of offering the standard race medal and t-shirt. This is where purchasing swag and utilizing a local shipper came into play.”
With careful thought and consideration regarding all the various aspects of virtual events, the team brainstormed multiple ways they could make it a level playing field for the competitive athletes. They also wanted to draw in those that are less competitive. In doing so, the coRUNa Series was born!
Preparation
Time was of the essence when it came to launching the event. Luckily their solidified brand recognition and well-known passion helped create a buzz.
Bragg says, “As with anything we do, our team has a lot of energy and a lot of passion. This keeps people returning to our events whether we are hosting, or merely timing. Because of that, people get excited and spread the word.”
While budgeting constraints from COVID-19 constricted their ability to advertise, the power of word-of-mouth and organic marketing didn’t stop them. The first day more than 30 participants signed-up, with that number doubling in a matter of three days, they ended the month with 130 registrants.
They were also able to leverage ACTIVEWorks Endurance (AWE) new features to drive engagement.
“Thankfully, the ACTIVEWorks Endurance Virtual Enhancements Features added a great layer of interaction between us and our participants. This helped in closing the loop for requiring result submissions and displaying results has encouraged participation and given the event a live race feel even in the virtual setting” Bryans confirms.
The Event Series Function worked to drive multiple registrations by allowing participants to sign up for one or more events in the series at once.
Communication is key. With the use of AWE’s Email Tool, they included as much detail as possible about the process in customized emails to make sure everyone had the information they needed along the way.
The Event
The coRUNa Series is a monthly event currently scheduled from April through August. Participants sign-up for their chosen months, or the entire series. They have a calendar month to run, walk or jog 30 miles. Each month the theme is a different theme. For example, one month is all about health and wellness and another is about sweets. Each month the new theme is surprise, so stay tuned to hear what they are!
Bragg says, “Allowing people to complete the 30 miles in whatever way works for them (in activity and number of activities) appeals to a large variety of athletes and allows anyone to do it.”
To incentivize participation for multiple months they are offering extra swag to those who complete three, four or all five of the monthly events. Once the month is complete and the results have been uploaded and verified, the staff then sends out swag purchased from local small businesses.
What’s Next
With today’s uncertainties, the team will continue to brainstorm ideas to get people excited about activities promoting health and stress relief. Creating a concept that resonates with each community is top priority to get people excited. And when people are excited, they help spread the word. No matter what the world looks like the team will continue to adapt.
In Bragg’s own words, “We will find the new normal and continue to adapt and figure out ways to bring other businesses and participants into our virtual event.”
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