FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
USA TODAY SPORTS ANNOUNCES MAZDA AS FOUNDING PARTNER
OF ACTIVE ALLIANCE RUNNING SERIES
MAZDA becomes "Official Presenting Sponsor" of the country's finest
marathon series
McLean, Va., (May 11, 2016) - USA TODAY SPORTS and Mazda North American
Operations (Mazda) today announced an exciting new partnership around the
USA TODAY Sports Active Alliance - a network of the country's finest
independent marathons.
Through the partnership, Mazda has become the Presenting Sponsor of the USA
TODAY Sports Active Alliance. The Alliance is a first-of-its-kind platform
designed to promote the endurance running market and brings together many
of the nation's finest independent marathons and half marathons under one
roof. The Active Alliance also allows races to maintain their independence
and unique regionalism while linking each other major city's marathons,
offering scale, reach and unprecedented promotion via the USA TODAY
NETWORK.
"Mazda is an emotion-invoking company that attracts customers who are very
engaged in the things they do, said Russell Wager, vice president of
marketing, Mazda North American Operations. "Our customers tend to lead an
active lifestyle and we want to be there to support them in their
endeavors, but do it in an organic way. Running is one of those passions
and we are proud to be part of the USA TODAY Sports Active Alliance."
Mazda's Presenting Sponsorship includes the following USA TODAY Sports
Active Alliance's marathons:
Eversource Hartford Marathon (Hartford, CT)
Portland Marathon (Portland, OR)
California International Marathon (Sacramento, CA)
Rite-Aid Cleveland Marathon (Cleveland, OH)
GO! St. Louis Marathon (St. Louis, MO)
Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (Indianapolis, IN)
Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon (Champaign-Urbana, IL)
Novant Health Charlotte Marathon (Charlotte, NC)
US Bank OC Marathon (Orange County, CA)
Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon (Oklahoma City, OK)
South Padre Island Marathon (South Padre Island, TX)
Baltimore Running Festival (Baltimore, MD)
Oakland Running Festival (Oakland, CA)
Utah Valley Marathon (Provo, UT)
Santa Rosa Marathon (Santa Rosa, CA)
"We are extremely honored and very excited that Mazda has chosen the USA
TODAY Sports Active Alliance as the running property to align with. As we
continue to build the country's finest marathon series, our partnership
with Mazda validates that we are well on our way in achieving this goal.
Mazda's vision clearly aligns with ours, and together, we are ready to
create "best in class" runner engagements across our races around the
country, "said Bruce Revman Commissioner of the USA TODAY Sports Active
Alliance.
The USA TODAY Sports Active Alliance is designed to allow marketers to
efficiently navigate media, marketing and sponsorship opportunities through
one centralized source.
Races within the Active Alliance receive visibility from a national
platform and benefit from the vast media resources and assets that both USA
TODAY Sports and the USA TODAY NETWORK, and parent company Gannett Co.,
Inc. (NYSE: GCI), provide, thus delivering new partnerships, increased
local and regional promotion and heightened editorial coverage.
About the USA TODAY Sports Media Group
The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across
USA TODAY Sports and Gannett's more than 120 well-known local media brands.
It also includes the sports photography wire service USA TODAY Sports
Images; leading high school sports destination USA TODAY High School
Sports; the social news hub For The Win, and the hundreds of sites within
USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties such as TheBigLead.com and mixed
martial arts site MMAJunkie.com, among others. USA TODAY is owned by
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).
About Mazda
Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and
oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda
vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers.
Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.
For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll,
please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com.
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