First man to run the marathon in less than two hours, the Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge broke a mythical barrier. An organized challenge from A to Z by Ineos, the petrochemical multinational with numerous sports investments, carefully thought out. From athletics to cycling, to soccer and sailing, the rich British Jim Ratcliffe is not deprived of anything. And the deed of this weekend does not seem to stop him.
As soon as he crossed the finish line, Kipchoge, with a shirt sponsored by Ineos and a big smile in his mouth, received the hug from Ratcliffe, who came in person to Vienna to witness the success of running a marathon in 1 hour 59 minutes and 40 seconds
It is true that it is a record not approved by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF), taking into account the particular conditions with which it was beaten, but makes it enter the discipline in a new era.
The official slogan of the event was: "No human being has limits." Without limits, the same as the investment in all directions in sports marketing since 2017.
Last July, Colombian Egan Bernal wore yellow on the arrival of the Tour de France to the Champs Elysees. Next to him, on the podium, his teammate Geraint Thomas to sign a double 'made in Ineos'. A few months earlier, the group took over the most prestigious cycling team in place of Sky, which had won six of the last seven editions of the French round (2012-2018).
"Red Bull Strategy"
"Sky was the benchmark in terms of performance in a sport that particularly highlights the name of the sponsor," says Vincent Chaudel, founder of the Business Sports Observatory for AFP.
Football is also obviously in the spotlight of the Ineos marketing strategy. The investments there are, however, less striking, since Jim Ratcliffe has not yet made a big European, although there are many rumors that this Manchester United fan is interested in Chelsea .
After winning the Lausanne Sport, repurchased in 2017 but in the second Swiss division, Nice was acquired last summer with the ambition to quickly take the club to the Champions League. "The Lausanne is an investment to be as close to the sport as possible. In Nice, the investment in the stadium, the training center and the training center is already done. And the stadium has marketing potential and a return on possible investment ", details Vincent Chaudel when talking about the Allianz Riviera.
The firm has also built the Britannia boat for 110 million euros , which will compete in 2021 in the Copa América sail, one of the oldest sports competitions in force, where innovations in naval architecture are developed. The ship will feature Spanish sailors Xavi Fernández and Joan Vila and the legendary Ben Ainslie as patron.
"It is a Red Bull strategy: they own their assets, not just a sponsor. For the marathon, they organized the event, which means they have assembled it with all the pieces and covered all aspects of the operation." , explains Virgile Caillet, the general delegate of 'Union Sport et Cycle', an organization that represents 1,400 companies in the world of sports.
"Consistent" Investments
"It is a large international group that works in a sector that is not the most complete. Sailing, athletics and cycling are sports that embody a form of respect for the environment," adds Caillet.
On the podium of the biggest fortunes in the United Kingdom with 18,000 million pounds , 'Sir' Jim Ratcliffe has an almost unlimited investment capacity but that at the moment is being "consistent", according to the two experts.
This 66-year-old millionaire, who grew up in a social housing in Manchester, founded his company in 1998, has 18,000 employees and his annual sales reach 60,000 million dollars. According to the British press, Ratcliffe will have taken about 20 million to make Kipchoge run the marathon in less than two hours.
A trifle. "We earn billions of benefits. What's wrong with investing a little in sport?" Ratcliffe asked when this project came to light.
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