Chevron Houston Marathon

Challenge
The Houston Marathon, one of the world’s premier marathons and a source of civic pride for Houston residents, did not have a brand. The Marathon turned to Active Imagination to establish a recognizable brand that would establish the event as a premier marathon and increase the number of participants.

Solution
Beginning with the 2004 race, Active Imagination developed event logos and collateral and advised on marketing and event awareness for the Marathon. The focus was on creating a visual style and marks that would be instantly recognizable to the consumer as belonging to the Houston Marathon. Active Imagination also advised Marathon officials on marketing strategy and grassroots methods to increase awareness of the event and raise the Marathon’s profile in the community.

Results
The new logo and consistency of branding across marketing channels helped the Houston Marathon to stand out in the crowded Houston sports market and create a national presence with marathon runners. The new look has helped to attract more runners to the event, which reached its registration cap of 15,000 registered runners in 2006.

“Active Imagination gave us the ability to stand out in a crowded space by creating a recognizable brand identity for the Chevron Houston Marathon.  Now that we have a consistent and unique presence in the market, we can attract more runners to our event.”
—Steven Karpas, Director of Marketing and Race Development, Chevron Houston Marathon