26.2 for Chicago is a deep-dive into the heroic stories behind some incredible 2018 Chicago Marathoners. Stories that demonstrate the drive, resilience, and the amazing capacity to overcome adversity that resides in all of us. Joe Clark escaped the revolving door of incarceration and addiction. Lynn Rogers overcame a painful CIDP diagnosis that left her completely paralyzed. Brian Reynolds became a world-class marathoner, despite losing both his legs at age 4. Their stories are proof that our greatest strengths can sometimes arise from overcoming the greatest of obstacles.

Our challenge: in a world of sensationalized news, it seems that every day we’re confronted with another hardship challenging the human spirit. Succumbing to adversity can feel inevitable. Yet, when we stop and listen to heroic stories of those who have defied incredible odds and risen above adversity, we are reminded of the power and resiliency of the human spirit. It becomes a ripple effect of positive momentum. This led to our creative strategy: When we recognize the strength in ourselves, we can power each other forward.

In order to build awareness and generate excitement for The Bank of America Chicago Marathon, our 26.2 for Chicago video content series ran on Bank of America’s social channels, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, with paid support leading up to the event date. The videos also lived on the bankofamerica.com digital destination as well as on the Bank’s YouTube channel. Paid support in social drove to both sites.

This campaign helped celebrate the perseverance and resiliency within us all:

Bank of America achieved a significant lift in engagement on Twitter (+127% YoY) and Facebook (+33% YoY).

This campaign helped drive the Bank of America brand forward:

The work lifted unaided sponsorship awareness to 76% among runners. That in turn increased overall brand favorability 14 points, driving lifts in key brand attributes including “supports neighborhoods in which they do business” (+28%). Brand favorability has been proven to be a direct driver of business success for the Bank.