runDisney Company Portfolio
Industry Profile
The Running Race industry took a fall at the beginning of COVID in 2020; as race directors around the world had to find a way to offer a product to current and potential racers due to the cancelled and postponed races for the Health and Safety of everyone involved. Thus, Virtual races were created as a way for those employed in the race industry to make some revenue for the race businesses and employees. Although in-person races are starting up again they are still providing the opportunity for participants to participate virtually if they don’t feel comfortable attending an in-person race. For the in-person races, races have moved to more of a staggered start to allow for more room in-between participants at the start line, beginning of the race and for the smaller distances which leads to all logistics needing to be planned for a longer duration than pre-covid races.
Some trends in the Running Race industry in 2022 include:
· The average participant isn’t necessarily an athlete (Data and Insights, 2016)
· A strong social media presence is a must (Data and Insights, 2016)
· Race participants expect more than just a medal (Data and Insights, 2016)
· 28.76% of runners began to run during the pandemic (Rizzo, 2021)
· 95% of races are affiliated with non-profit organizations (Rizzo, 2021)
Some running statistics found globally during the height of the COVID pandemic include:
· An increase of 65% in running and jogging activities
· Users logged an average of 37.3 % more miles
· Outdoor running miles increased by 34%
· Race participation increased by 45.5%
· Between 11am- 6pm there was a 5% increase in people running
· Average running pace slowed down by 8.5%
· 5.6% of cyclists shifted to running
· Use of running apps increased by 27%
(Rizzo, 2021).
Company Profile
runDisney is the premier destination race series where the magic of Disney provides your inspiration (runDisney, n.d.). A runDisney race allows runners to move with magic through Disney Parks all over the world, allowing adventures through classic enchantment to a springtime of surprise. With everything from 5K’s to a full marathon, Disney Characters, live entertainment and commemorative Disney finisher medals (runDisney, n.d.).
runDisney was established in 1994 and had 5,588 runners and only one race, the Walt Disney World Marathon (Hristov, 2022). In 1999, they added the Donald Duck Half Marathon followed by the 10K (Hristov, 2022). There are now over 26 individual races and 163,000+ runners bringing in huge crowds every time there is a race weekend (Hristov, 2022. runDisney had introduced some virtual races pre-covid but with covid introduced the in-person events with virtual events to allow a fun way to participate in the runs while unable to travel to it (Hristov, 2022). Through its events runDisney is able to support a multitude of charities while also allowing runners to help raise money for their favourite charities (Hristov, 2022). Participants are able to acquire a race bibb by pledging to raise a certain amount of money for their chosen charity (Hristov, 2022).
runDisney races are granted the opportunity for participants to qualify for the World Marathons such as Boston, New York and Tokyo.
runDisney is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company; with Disney’s reputation runDisney doesn’t have a single sales team but would have more of marketing approach to sales as their product is the only magical race experience that is held. runDisney’s goal is to continue to grow the sport around the world by bringing new runners into the sport through unique runDisney events that provide a broader variety of runners the opportunity to run in one of our events and live a healthier and more active lifestyle (Sylt, 2016). Through the hosting of runDisney events they are also encouraging runners to bring their families and visit the Walt Disney World parks not just run through them therefore bringing revenue to Disney in the many different faucets in which money is spent (Hotels, Food, and Experiences).
Product Profile
runDisney’s product line originated with just in-person events hosted at Walt Disney World. These events include races that start with a 5-kilometer distance to a marathon distance, with various distances in-between, as well as Challenges (more than one race). With the pandemic runDisney expanded their offering to include virtual races allowing those with a US mailing address the opportunity to participate in the races when unable to attend the in-person races. runDisney offers the opportunity to everyone whether a beginner, seasoned and professional runner, everyone is welcome to attend and participate (runDisney, n.d.). The medals for every race are inspired by the weekend theme; for example, Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend — all of the races have a different princess theme (runDisney, n.d.). runDisney encourages their participants to dress up and “just run for the fun” (runDisney, n.d.).
Currently runDisney offers four events for in-person attendance and five events for virtual attendance. These include Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend and runDisney Springtime Surprise Weekend as well as a Virtual Summer Series. For each event weekend there is 4–6 distances that runners can participate in, with many runners completing multiple distances in the weekend.
Some of the features of attending runDisney events is the ability to run through the Walt Disney World Parks before they open or after they close, the ability to get pictures with characters as you are running, get a commemorative Disney finisher medal, visit the expo for the ability to purchase race weekend apparel, as well as other athletic companies’ products, the lack of pressure of running a race (due to the atmosphere).
The pricing of a runDisney event is quite expensive especially for those attending the in-person events as they also have to cover hotel, travel, food, merchandise and theme park tickets. For the virtual events the price is still expensive but less than if an individual were to participate in person for the same shirts and medals. The promotion is only done on the themes of the distance races & challenges for an event weekend and word of mouth have created a scarcity in available participant slots.
As with any sporting event there is no refund except for extenuating circumstances. For the virtual events you must have a shipping address in the United States in order to participate in the races so that they can send you the medals and shirts; bibs, mile markers and certificates of completion are available on the participant’s online profile.
Competitor Profile
There is no direct competitor to runDisney events in terms of experience. Competition in the form of a race would be the Boston Marathon. The Boston Marathon is an exclusive race that you have to both qualify and be accepted into the race. Once a runner has been accepted into the race, they are provided the information for race weekend. Historically, runners who beat their qualifying standard by a quicker time are more likely to be accepted into the Boston Marathon; due to the race capacity and exclusivity of participation (Boston Marathon, n.d.). As this race is exclusive beginner or moderate runners are unable to participate.
Competitor Matrix:
Strengths:
runDisney: Anyone and everyone can participate in the races whether a beginner or a frequent and or competitive runner.
Boston Marathon: World renowned race with a highly competitive field of runners all vying to be the best.
Weaknesses:
runDisney: Runs are either held early in the morning or late at night so as to decrease the impact on the parks operating hours.
Boston Marathon: Run is exclusive so not everyone that would like to participate in the Boston Marathon are able to.
Unique Points:
runDisney: Able to create a magical run experience that is fun for all participants.
Boston Marathon: Able to run with the world’s best runners who compete in the Olympics
Gaps:
runDisney: Not everyone is able to afford to participate in a runDisney event
Boston Marathon: There is only one race distance that is held.
Prospect Profile:
runDisney uses their race weekends to help support multiple charities and one of the ways that they do this is by offering a certain quantity of bibs to various charities. These charities then offer up these bibs to runners, if they are able to raise a certain amount of money for the charity. This not only allows more runners to participate in the runDisney Events but also raises a huge sum of money for the charities. These charities can include:
· A-T Children’s Project
· American Cancer Society
· Autism Speaks
· Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida
· Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
· St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
· And many more!
(Hristov, 2022).
Each of these charities needs the funds provided from fundraisers in order to complete what they are set out to do. By providing these fundraising opportunities runDisney is able to help the charities to raise money in order to fund their causes.
References:
Boston Marathon (n.d.). Qualifying for the Boston Marathon. Retrieved from: https://www.baa.org/races/boston-marathon/qualify Retrieved on: May 23, 2022
Data and Insights (August 10, 2016. 3 Ways Participants Expect More From the Running Industry. Retrieved from: https://www.eventbrite.com/blog/running-industry-participant-demands-ds00/ Retrieved on: May 23, 2022
Hristov, Jessica (January 25, 2022). History of runDisney. Retrieved from: https://www.theorlandoreal.com/history-of-rundisney/# Retrieved on: May 23, 2022
Rizzo, Nicholas (September 27, 2021). 120+ Running Statistics 2021/2022 (Research Review). Retrieved from: https://runrepeat.com/running-statistics Retrieved on: May 23, 2022
runDisney (n.d.). Homepage. Retrieved from: https://www.rundisney.com/ Retrieved on: May 23, 2022
runDisney (n.d.). About Us. Retrieved from: https://www.rundisney.com/about/ Retrieved on May 23, 2022
Sylt, Christian (January 7, 2016). Disney’s Runaway Success. Retrieved from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2016/01/07/disneys-runaway-success/?sh=d006e8219c46 Retrieved on: May 23, 2022
