TAG Heuer, the luxury Swiss watch maker, has signed on as a sponsor and official timekeeper for several marathons to extend its reach beyond motorsports and further affirm its roots in sports. The sponsorships will be aimed at reaching almost 320 million people all over the world with its new campaign message “Dont Crack Under Pressure.”

TAG Heuer is partnering with the following races :  New York (TCS New York City Marathon), Chicago (Bank Of America Chicago Marathon), Berlin (BMW Berlin Marathon) and Paris (Schneider electric Marathon de Paris), Oslo and Moscow.

The company said the sponsorships demonstrate how it is going back to its origins and focusing once again on its core business, sports watches and chronographs, and on the sport, challenge, competition and desire to excel that are in its blood. 

The company said the focus on marathons is aimed at extending the range of imagery it can use for the Dont Crack Under Pressure campaign beyond motorsports, where it will retain a presence. The company said marathon racing is an area that has as yet been little exploited by Swiss watchmakers.

“This discipline was only for the initiated ten years ago but it is now becoming a more popular sport reaching an international public of all ages, comprising both regulars and new fans, all running marathons in search of self-realization, a personal records and adrenaline,” the company said.

According to the organizers, the major marathons have over 250,000 participants. The TCS New York City Marathon  run over the weekend, attracts more than 50,000 participants and 2.5 million spectators gather along the edges of the route in the various cities. Marathons therefore represent a real opportunity for profile-raising and highly valuable sponsorship : the branding along the entire route, the media advertising, television, press, web, make an impact that goes well beyond the actual race, said  Stéphane Linder, President and CEO of the Swiss Manufacture.

“We think marathons ensure very wide global visibility across all the communication media,” Linder said. “Running a marathon requires great physical strength and even more mental strength, and this is even truer if you want to be one of the gallant marathon finishers. We are proud that our “Dont Crack Under Pressure” message is associated with this philosophy.”

Linder said TAG Heuer has always invested a large portion of its marketing budget in sponsorship, as it considers that being associated with a sports event not only ensures a higher profile with a specific target group but also enriches the brand’s territory by providing content. The brand also has an opportunity to showcase all the values it shares with the world of sport.

TAG Heuer has had a close relationship with time measurement and control right from the beginning. Pushing back the limits of time is likewise the goal of the best marathon runners : the world long-distance record fell this year in Berlin.  Dennis Kimetto ran the 42.195 km in 2h02 mins 57secs-an incredible performance that seemed impossible a short while ago. This feat is expected to be repeated in the very near future. It was therefore natural for the boldest of watchmakers  to put its name to this type of partnership.