Wanda Sports / IRONMAN China
Turning endurance sports into mainstream cultural moments through creative PR, event storytelling, and on-site execution.
Agency - Ogilvy Public Relations China
Year - 2017
Focus - Creative PR, sports marketing, earned media, event activation, campaign execution
Context
At Ogilvy Public Relations China, I worked on creative PR and execution for Wanda Sports, including IRONMAN and related endurance-sports properties. The challenge was to make endurance sports more understandable, more interesting, and more talkable for audiences beyond the core athlete community. Instead of relying only on race results or official announcements, we created media-worthy moments that could travel across sports media, social platforms, and mainstream conversations..
Approach
We used creative PR to lower the distance between professional endurance sports and the public. The work turned technical race assets into stories people could immediately understand: a brand culture bar inside the race expo, and a pet dog becoming the first “finisher” of a Rock 'n' Roll Marathon course through a first-person video. Each idea gave media a stronger hook and gave audiences a more playful way into the sport.
Selected Work
- Helped turn race-site experience into brand storytelling through the IRONMAN bar and culture exhibition at the Xiamen IRONMAN Expo - Developed a dog-course-testing video idea for Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, using a surprising “first finisher” angle to explain the race route - Supported on-site execution, media storytelling, content packaging, and post-event communication - Helped package creative event cases for award-facing submissions
Impact
The work helped Wanda Sports create stronger public conversation around endurance sports. The shared-bike IRONMAN idea drove discussion beyond the triathlon circle and helped connect IRONMAN with a wider cycling and lifestyle audience. According to the award submission materials, IRONMAN’s social media Index rose more than 20 times compared with the pre-event average, while IRONMAN 70.3 rose more than 40 times. The dog-course-testing video also gained strong social traction, with multiple platform accounts sharing the video and reported views reaching 800K+.
What This Shows
This project shows my early foundation in creative PR: building simple, surprising ideas that make a niche category easier to understand, easier to share, and more attractive to media. It also shows my ability to connect creativity with execution. The work did not stop at an idea. It had to happen on-site, work for media, create social conversation, and support the client’s broader brand visibility.