Dick’s Sporting Goods declares May is Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month, announces ten major running-event sponsorships

Brock Foreman | March 19th, 2010 - 11:15 am

Pittsburgh, Pa., March 19, 2010 — Dick’s Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) announced today that May 2010 is Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month, a new, major sports-marketing initiative to promote running and highlight the retailer’s deep commitment to serving runners throughout the United States.

The retailer also unveiled Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month’s centerpiece platform: major sponsorship of ten premiere running events in metropolitan markets across the country throughout May and early June 2010. These ten events comprise the 2010 Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month Event Calendar and include the following:

• Alexandria Running Festival, Washington, D.C., May 2

• Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, May 2

• Chuy’s Hot to Trot, Austin, Texas, May 8

• Palos Verde Marathon, Los Angeles, California, May 15

• Strawberry Festival, San Diego, California, May 30

• Brentwood 10K, Los Angeles, California, May 30

• Stillwater Marathon, Stillwater, Minnesota, May 30

• Ridge Run 10K, Chicago, Illinois, May 31

• Dick’s Sporting Goods Bolder Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, May 31

• Starlight Run, Portland, Oregon, June 5

Combined, these ten running events boast approximately 75,000 race participants, and scores of spectators.

In addition to event sponsorships, Dick’s Sporting Goods will support the Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month with a comprehensive marketing campaign starting now and lasting through the month of May. According to the company, Dick’s Sporting Goods will soon launch a dedicated website for the Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month. The campaign will also include national advertising, social media, mobile marketing–including the development of a running-related iPhone application available through Apple’s App Store–store promotions on running gear, running ambassadors, partnership with a national charitable organization, and other activities to engage both new runners and experienced runners alike.

“Dick’s Sporting Goods is proud to support running at such a high level, both inside our retail stores and in the communities we serve” said Jeffrey Hennion, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Dick’s Sporting Goods. “We have partnered with ten extraordinary running events to help launch Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month,” said Hennion. We are aiming to bolster running’s tremendous, recent growth and fuel the popularity of one of the healthiest recreational and fitness activities,” said Hennion.

About Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month
Scheduled for May 2010, Dick’s Sporting Goods National Runners’ Month is an initiative by leading sporting goods retailer, Dick’s Sporting Goods, to promote running and highlight the company’s deep commitment to serving runners throughout the United States.

About Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc.
Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel, and footwear in a specialty store environment. The Company currently operates 419 Dick’s Sporting Goods stores in 40 states primarily throughout the eastern half of the U.S. The Company also owns Golf Galaxy, Inc., a multi-channel golf specialty retailer, with 91 stores in 31 states, e-commerce websites and catalog operations. www.dickssportinggoods.com

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Media Contact
Brock Foreman
207-233-7968
brock.foreman@gmail.com

Twitter Weekly Rewind for 2010-03-14

Brock Foreman | March 14th, 2010 - 3:00 am

Atayne receives seed grant from Maine Technology Institute

Brock Foreman | March 12th, 2010 - 4:42 pm

Brunswick, Maine, March 12, 2010 — Atayne this week earned a seed grant from the Maine Technology Institute for the research and development of cutting-edge, eco-active apparel made from trash.

The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) is a state-funded nonprofit corporation that invests in innovative new businesses in Maine.  MTI awarded Atayne $12,500 to help finalize designs, develop prototypes, and wear test an innovative, eco-friendly athletic short designed for high performance and comfort across multiple activities including running, cycling, hiking and yoga.

MTI’s seed grant enables Atayne to expand its product line in a new direction:  below the waste.  Since Atayne’s founding in 2008, the manufacturer has specialized in high-performance tops made from 100%-recycled materials.  Atayne’s Grind T and Trash T shirts have earned a following among eco-conscious runners, hikers, cyclists, paddlers, and yoga enthusiasts across North America.  And Atayne’s new Grind Cycling Jersey will be available to consumers later this spring.  Now, with research-and-development funding in place, Atayne will proceed to introduce the brand’s first-ever bottom.

“Maine Technology Institute’s investment will help Atayne move to the next level as we continue to innovate, design, and manufacture apparel that is safe for people and has a minimal impact on the environment,” said Jeremy Litchfield, Atayne’s founder and pacesetter.

“We are excited to support Atayne’s development of a promising technology that will benefit Maine’s economy,” said Shane Beckim, Seed Grant Specialist, Maine Technology Institute.

Atayne’s MTI seed grant represents the latest in a string of recognitions for innovation and entrepreneurship, including being named a 2009 Entreverge Winner and entry into the Maine Center for Enterprise Development ’s “Top Gun” program.

About Atayne, LLC
Brunswick, Maine-based Atayne inspires positive environmental and social change through the power of active lifestyles.  Atayne uses innovative technologies and materials made from plastic bottles, coconut and crab shells, and fabric scraps–in other words, trash!–to create high-performing athletic and outdoor gear that is safe for people and the planet.  www.atayne.com

About Maine Technology Institute
The Maine Technology Institute (MTI) is a state-funded nonprofit corporation providing early-stage capital and commercialization assistance for the research and development of innovative technology-based projects that create new products, process and services, generating high-quality jobs across Maine.  www.mainetechnology.org

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Media Contact
Brock Foreman
Two Lights Consulting
brock.foreman@gmail.com
207-233-7968

Twitter Weekly Rewind for 2010-03-07

Brock Foreman | March 7th, 2010 - 3:00 am

Attention bloggers: register your site on Quantcast

Brock Foreman | March 5th, 2010 - 5:28 pm

While planning web outreach programs for their clients, PR agencies like Two Lights Consulting increasingly use tools like Alexa and Quantcast to “background check” blogs.

Specifically, Quantcast provides valuable metrics–i.e., traffic, gender, income, and other stats–for thousands of websites that register to be tracked.  In a glance, a PR professional can learn a lot about a blog to guage relative media value for their client.

Say a PR professional is on the fence about whether they should send an expensive product sample to a blogger.  Using Quantcast helps make an educated decision.

Obviously, raw traffic data and demographics information is useful.  But the mere fact that a blogger has made an effort to register and make their blog’s information readily available to the world also sends a powerful signal that the blog is credible.

Registered on Quantcast? The sample product you requested is in the mail.

Fun fact: More bicycles than cars sold in 2009

Brock Foreman | March 1st, 2010 - 5:19 pm

According to a recent “RAAM Report” on Race Across America’s website, bicycle sales outpaced car sales in the U.S. last year.  2.6 million bikes were sold vs. 2.5 million cars.

While cycling remains primarily a recreational activity in this country, and today’s bike sales are being driven by the “Lance Effect” and popularity of road cycling, the article highlights an increasing bike-commuting trend due cities continue to invest in infrastructure for bike transportation.  (Yeah!)

Not convinced bike commuting is viable in a northern climate?  The article also noted 50% of Copenhagen residents will pedal commute by 2015.

For the full RAAM Report article, click here.

Twitter Weekly Rewind for 2010-02-28

Brock Foreman | February 28th, 2010 - 7:00 am

Atayne launches Grind Cycling Jersey with 100%-recycled materials, crowdsourced design

Brock Foreman | February 25th, 2010 - 4:32 pm

Atayne's Grind Cycling Jersey: High on performance, style, and sustainability.

Brunswick, Maine, February 25, 2010 – Atayne, an eco-active apparel manufacturer, unveiled the Grind Cycling Jersey, Atayne’s first-ever, zip-up, road-cycling jersey.

Atayne’s Grind Cycling Jersey is a high-performance garment made in the U.S.A. from 100%-recycled polyester. The jersey has a three-fourths hidden zipper in front and traditional three-pocket configuration in back. The jersey is blue and white with a green collar that pays homage to Atayne’s commitment to the environment. Customers can choose from six Atayne Cycling Point of View Graphics.

Atayne crowdsourced the Grind Cycling Jersey’s design, drawing on the expertise and preferences of the brand’s athletic and eco-conscious fans.  In 2009, Atayne asked customers to vote on their favorite point-of-view graphics for the jersey. Earlier this year, Atayne surveyed its cyclist customers to determine the jersey’s zipper design.  Atayne then implemented a social-media contest for the company’s followers on Twitter and Facebook to choose the colors.

“Atayne stands for ‘performance with a point of view,”” said Jeremy Litchfield, Atayne’s founder and pacesetter.  “Atayne’s point of view is social responsibility and care for the environment,” said Litchfield.  “Our point of view is also that of our customers who are passionate about their sport.  Instead of going with a bike-jersey design we liked best, we left it up to the Atayne community to decide,” said Litchfield.  “Listening to your customers–it makes a whole lot of sense to us,” said Litchfield.

The Grind Cycling Jersey will be available in men’s and women’s sizes in March 2010. The jersey will retail for $85 at Atayne.com and select cycling shops.

About Atayne, LLC
Brunswick, Maine-based Atayne inspires positive environmental and social change through the power of active lifestyles.  Atayne uses innovative technologies and materials made from plastic bottles, coconut and crab shells, and fabric scraps–in other words, trash!–to create high-performing athletic and outdoor gear that is safe for people and the planet.  www.atayne.com

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Media Contact
Brock Foreman
Two Lights Consulting
brock.foreman@gmail.com
207-233-7968

Why are bedroom closets so big nowadays? And how many running shirts do I need?

Brock Foreman | February 24th, 2010 - 9:26 pm

I owned a house once that was built in the 1920s. The bedrooms had the world’s smallest closets. Broom closets by today’s standards. People got by with fewer clothes back then. (Or people were much, much smaller.)

Thinking back, my grandparents and great grandparents owned relatively few clothes. (And they were in the retail clothing business!) But the stuff they had was nice, sturdy, classic–built to last.  It all seemed to fit in their tidy closets.

Like any lifelong runner, I can almost fill an entire 1920s-era bedroom closet with performance running shirts.  Many shirts I don’t wear too often because their cut or color has fallen out of fashion.  The new ones pile up, and the old ones settle at the bottom of the shelf like layers of sedimentary rock.

It’s wasteful.

My grandparents preceded performance athletic apparel. But if they were alive and running today, my bet is they’d opt for a small quantity of t-shirts that would go the extra mile performance-wise and fashion-wise. Sustainable without even knowing it, my grandparents.

Twitter Weekly Rewind for 2010-02-21

Brock Foreman | February 21st, 2010 - 3:00 am
  • The key to, well, everything: Less is more. #
  • Less is better, but I'll keep my running shoes. http://shar.es/m1Ayk #
  • Writing press releases. #
  • Thanks to Green Guide Network for the nice report on Atayne eco-active apparel http://bit.ly/arPXHH #
  • Attn Maine Track Club: Psychic Coffee 5k is March 6, 7am at Maine Roasters, Falmouth. #

Less is better, but I’m keeping my running shoes

Brock Foreman | February 16th, 2010 - 7:35 pm

When I edit my writing, I delete.  And when I delete, my writing improves dramatically.  Minimalist prose sings.  I didn’t know this trick in school.  I do now. [...]

Twitter Weekly Rewind for 2010-02-14

Brock Foreman | February 14th, 2010 - 3:00 am

Open sourcing our lives is the future, but it should arrive with an “opt-in” button

Brock Foreman | February 11th, 2010 - 5:25 pm

Today, I started using Buzz–Google’s latest stab at a social-media status update platform.  I like it. I’ll keep using it.

Buzz is like having a Facebook or Twitter status feed built into your Gmail account. In fact, one click lets you stream your Twitter feeds. However, Buzz updates don’t post to your Twitter account. At least not until Google finally decides to open its wallet and drop a few billion dollars to buy Twitter. [...]

Twitter Weekly Rewind for 2010-02-07

Brock Foreman | February 7th, 2010 - 3:00 am

Vote now for your favorite design for Atayne’s new cycling jersey and enter to win

Brock Foreman | February 4th, 2010 - 4:24 pm

Atayne is about to launch its first-ever cycling jersey but needs help from its fans to pick the best design.  Vote now and you’ll be entered to win a jersey!  Click here to vote.

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