Fulford PR wins Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore

This appointment, which was made after a pitch called in May, marks the seventh year the agency has managed communications for the Standard Chartered Marathon Singapore and its predecessor, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

The event, which dubbed 'The People's Race', has grown from 30,000 participants when the agency was first appointed in 2006 to 65,000 runners last year. It will take place on 2 December.

“Running is one of the most popular sports enjoyed by Singaporeans, and SCMS' growth in this respect reflects the growth in the high regard people have of this activity,” Ronda Ng Doswell, director and head of sports PR at Fulford PR, said.

"The key objective was also to drive participation of the event as the marquee running event on Singapore's sporting calendar."

Earlier, Fulford PR was awarded the account for the recently-concluded Singapore National Games (SNG) 2012, leveraging its past experience on large-scale multi-disciplinary events such as the 2009 Asian Youth Games and the 2007 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

A joint effort between SSC, the People's Association (PA) and National Sports Associations (NSAs), the SNG is an inaugural biennial sporting event designed to bridge community participation and sporting excellence, and was opened to all ages and races of Singapore residents.

The games took place from 1 to 9 September, and the next edition is slated to take place in 2014.

“Sports is increasingly becoming an integral part of Singaporeans' lives, and the SNG was yet another reflection of joint efforts by various public and people organisations to make Singapore a great place to live, work and play,” Ronda added.

Both events are seen as national marques in helping to build Singapore into a sporting nation. The two sporting events have contributed to a larger, overarching strategy to further develop and enhance sports participation among Singaporeans, dubbed "Vision 2030".

In line with the “Vision 2030” project to drive participation among the public, people and private sectors, the main goal for both briefs was to garner and enhance awareness and support from Singaporeans – not just the local sporting community.

Both activities also sought to engage non-sporting channels, such as lifestyle and human-interest, to generate further relevance among Singaporeans who may not be as sporty.