Procam International wins ‘Best Innovation’ at Mass Participation World Awards 2019 for Tata Mumbai Marathon Inspiration Medal

Procam International wins ‘Best Innovation’ at Mass Participation World Awards 2019 for Tata Mumbai Marathon Inspiration Medal

Ashish Bhushan

Mumbai: Thriving towards attaining excellence in sports management, Procam International, India’s leading sports promoter, won the ‘The 'Best Asian Innovation' honor at the Mass Participation World Industry Awards 2019 in Singapore yesterday.

The honor was bestowed on Asia’s most prestigious Tata Mumbai Marathon for launching the world’s first ‘Inspirational Medal’ at the 2018 edition.

The company’s pioneering efforts towards creating a running revolution in India and constantly striving to innovate and enhance runner experience has led to this accomplishment.

With humble beginnings back in 2004, today the Tata Mumbai Marathon has helped put India on the global map of distance running, with many of its star athletes winning laurels for the country on international platforms. The journey of this event for the past 16 years has been transformational. From starting a health & fitness revolution in the country to bringing the community together without discrimination on one common platform, to creating an equal chance for amateurs and elite runners alike to vie for glory, to becoming the single-largest fund-raising platform of Indian sport.

Globally, Tata Mumbai Marathon is among the world’s top ten races.

A world’s first, The Inspiration Medal is a creative outcome of the collaboration between Procam International and Chlorophyll Innovation Lab. The idea behind the Inspiration Medal was based on an essential finding of large-scale research conducted with runners - the most important role in a runner’s life is played by their families, friends, their peers that continue to encourage them to push their boundaries. The preparations for a marathon require 8-10 months of dedication and perseverance and the ‘Inspiration Medal’ is a symbol of recognition for both, runners and their inspiration.

The unique medal comes with the special feature which lets one medal be forced apart into two different medals, one that says ‘Finisher’ and the other that says ‘Inspiration’. This path-breaking concept created immense buzz when it was launched two years ago, and resulted in manifold increase in inquiries for the full marathon from running enthusiasts, in addition to generating earned media of over 2 million USD for the event.

On the occasion Vivek B Singh, Joint MD, Procam International said, “We are thrilled with the honor bestowed by MPW Awards on the Tata Mumbai Marathon. For an event as young as the Mumbai Marathon to be competing with the best out there, is definitely something for all of us to be proud of. The Inspiration Medal was truly unique when it was launched two years ago, and continues to be most sought after amongst runners. This recognition and honor will motivate our team to continue their untiring efforts in making the Tata Mumbai Marathon India’s pride and Asia’s most prestigious marathon. With the 17th edition less than a month away, this is a big boost to the entire team that works to make this event the success that it is!”

Chitresh Sinha, CEO, chlorophyll innovation lab said, “As a brand and innovation partner to the Tata Mumbai Marathon, the process of turning a symbol of victory into an innovative symbol of inspiration was extremely exciting for us. At chlorophyll innovation lab, our focus is on using innovation to bring alive a brand’s philosophy in an impactful manner that is extremely engaging and totally different from traditional advertising. We believe the ‘Inspiration Medal’ communicates the spirit of the Mumbai Marathon perfectly! We’ve been partners to Procam for a decade now and it is exciting to see how an event like The Tata Mumbai Marathon has become a showcase of people pushing physical boundaries but boundaries of the human spirit.”

The Mass Participation World (MPW) Awards programme is a peer-reviewed initiative to recognize the best events and mass participation initiatives in the industry in Asia. The finalists for the nine award categories were selected based on data collected by self and industry award nomination; anonymous industry expert nomination; and information taken from the inaugural MPW participant and industry survey. MPW fosters year-round collaboration & best practice within the Mass Participation Industry. Engagement is across all verticals including running, cycling, triathlon, obstacle racing & swimming with all members of the industry from Governments and cities to federations, brands, rights holders, suppliers and not-for profit organizations.