For the first time, our team went to Zurich to cover the 20th edition of the Zurich Marathon. Three separate races brought together more than 12,000 participants who ran along the lakeside in what we’ll call… capricious weather. Our mission? Energize the event on social media to reach a broad audience, create virality, engagement, and generate interest for the next edition, all while highlighting the sponsors and without spending a single Swiss franc on paid media.

On Sunday, April 23, our team, consisting of two content creators, a project manager, and a community manager, got up early. At 6:00 AM, a first video immersed Zurich in the pre-race atmosphere, capturing the preparation and tension of the runners.

The day was a marathon in itself for the team, navigating between the media center (our HQ) and various strategic points along the 42.195 km course. This meticulous organization allowed us to capture and share the best emotions throughout the race, from starts to finishes, while relaying practical information and results, and managing questions and comments on social media.

Our content creators were on all fronts: filming, interviewing, exchanging rushes, editing, and delivering the content to the community manager. (Note: The marathon finish coincided with the start of the half-marathon, and therefore some Zurich cafes saw our content creators editing videos in their establishments.) Our CM then had to plan the posts to optimize engagement without overwhelming the accounts, choosing the right formats (feed, Reels, stories), adding the right music, and precise wording.

The result? More than 16 Reels produced and shared, enriched with photos taken on the spot to tell the history of the day in stories, accompanied by graphic visuals giving information and standings. Three videos reached more than 200,000 people and we achieved a total reach of 1.1 million on the content created. Finally, after two days, we saw nearly 50,000 profile visits on Instagram, which brought us 2,000 new followers and more than 31,000 interactions. A success that calls for more, with sunshine this time please.