Have you ever won or earned an award? Whether it’s a plaque for being named employee of the year, getting a gift card for winning trivia night at your favorite bar, or earning a custom medal for finishing at your sporting event, you know how awesome it feels to acknowledge your accomplishments with a reward.
You love to be recognized for achieving a goal. Even getting a simple stock medal for finishing a race can give people the warm fuzzies, so it’s easy to imagine how a unique, custom medal with a high-quality neck ribbon would leave a positive, lasting impression on your 5K participants.
Although it seems obvious that 5K runners deserve a medal for finishing their race, you might be surprised to hear many 5K events actually do not award finishers with a custom medal. Sure, it’s not The New York City Marathon, but completing a 5K could be a massive accomplishment for someone new to running, recovering from a physical injury, or starting their weight-loss journey.
Every runner wants to leave your 5K with a fantastic medal around their neck, plain and simple. Read on to understand how and why giving out custom finisher medals at your 5K event can be a gamechanger.
Your 5K Stands Out From The Rest
As mentioned, it’s fairly common to not be awarded a finisher medal, let alone a custom medal, at 5K races. Fortunately, this means that you can set your 5K event apart by choosing to award participants with a custom finisher medal. In addition, participants will likely be more attracted to your race if you promote that they’ll receive a one-of-a-kind custom medal at the finish line.
Whenever possible, order/receive your custom medals far enough in advance so you can use them as a marketing tool before race day. Advertising that custom medals will be handed out to every runner at the event is an easy yet effective way to engage and entice (more) people to register for your 5K specifically. Keep in mind you can also use the final medal artwork for digital marketing when appropriate.
Aside from using the medal to promote your event, you can also rest easy knowing that when the event is over, your participants will be so pleased with their medal that they’ll want to show it off to friends, family, social media, etc.
Everybody loves high-quality swag, especially a unique award from an event that invokes feelings of success, accomplishment, and happiness. By giving finishers a custom medal when most 5K events don’t give any medal, they’ll have a higher perceived value of your event, which will stick out to them and keep them coming back for more.
Helps Increase Brand Awareness & Grow Future Events
When your event is still top of mind to participants, they’re likely to increase brand awareness by influencing others to register for your future events.
When you prioritize making your 5K race stand out from the rest by awarding a custom finisher medal, not only could you see an increase of registrations for future events, but chances are high you’ll also attract more/better sponsors. With the extra hype and proven success of your previous 5K race, the door to connect with and secure sponsors for any events you host in the future is wide open.
Sponsors love to partner with you if they know their brand, name, logo, etc., will be prominently displayed and advertised. It’s even more exciting to them when you can offer prime, permanent real estate options via a unique custom medal.
Custom Medals for Any Event
Being different with a custom finisher medal at your 5K can pay off (literally). As an event director, it’s safe to say your main goals are to make your event stand out, so you increase future registrations, spark conversation about your event among the community, and ultimately grow your event by securing the best sponsors.
To accomplish those goals and be the best 5K race around, you should consider awarding participants an exclusive custom medal.
If you’re considering getting custom finisher medals for your 5K and want to learn the best way forward, start the conversation with one of our race industry experts who will guide you through the process.
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