Some 11 years ago, 680 women donned their trainers, ran round Battersea Park and raised an impressive 拢36,000 for Cancer Research UK. The charity recognised that it was on to a winner, but little did it realise how quickly the Race for Life concept would grow.
The following year the event's numbers increased six-fold and this year, supported by Tesco for the fourth time, more than half a million women ran the five-kilometre race in 174 venues up and down the country.
So far 拢70 million has been raised for cancer research, making it the UK's biggest ever fundraising event series.
"It's an active way of raising money," says Emma Reed, marketing manager at Cancer Research UK. "There is an emotional reward rather than putting a pound in a bucket, and it's a positive, inspiring way to promote our work."
But behind this fundraising success story lies a massive logistical effort, both on the ground and behind the scenes. As the event grew the data capture and fulfilment requirements became increasingly challenging, and in 2002 the charity began working with IdentexTPH.
The company was charged with providing a fully comprehensive database and fulfilment system. This had to be capable of handling real-time data capture through multiple channels and link with every other part of the process - from taking (and chasing) sponsorship payments, to dispatching thousands of personalised race packs, as well as the charity's year-round mailing programme.
However, it quickly became clear that the previous platform for handling this process was struggling to cope with the volume of entrants. So IdentexTPH invested more than 拢500,000 in a bespoke database solution, flexible and robust enough to handle large volumes of data with the ability to scale up to cope with future demand.
Cancer Research UK keeps the IdentexTPH team busy year round, starting with a teaser mailing in the last week of the year, reminding past participants that a new year of races is coming up. The races take place from May through to July and entries start coming in from January.
The channels people use to enter have changed significantly in recent years. "When we started, 60 per cent of people entered by post, but this has now swung round in favour of the web," says John Pearce, divisional managing director of IdentexTPH.
"This year 60 per cent registered online, 28 per cent by phone and only 12 per cent by post."
This shift towards web entrants is beneficial from a time and cost point of view, but is also welcome in terms of the integrity of the data. Race entrants have to complete mandatory fields and addresses are automatically validated online using the Postcode Address File (PAF). In comparison, postal entries are often incomplete, requiring a follow-up phone call from the customer services team, also managed by IdentexTPH.
Phone and postal entrants are then PAF validated and all the data is deduped, although this has to be a relatively loose process as Claire Rogerson, account director at IdentexTPH explains. "You do get people forgetting that they have entered a race and entering twice, but we have to allow for some multiple registrations. You might have a mother and daughter at the same address entering a race, for example, or one person entering a number of races."
But perhaps the most complex process of all is the fulfilment of multiple pack types and merchandise, all of which link back to the central database. This is no mean feat given that volumes of up to 17,000 entries might be processed in any one day, meeting an average turnaround of three days from entry to race pack dispatch.
A simple 'pick list' process enables IdentexTPH to make different data selections based on the race packs that need to go out that day. This could relate to a particular race or postal entrants only.
The number of different variables that could be included in each pack is vast. Each personalised letter includes all this information at the bottom in code so the IdentexTPH team can manually bring together the different elements in one race pack (see box, above).
Once the races have taken place, the communication process is far from over. This year for the first time the charity sent out a 'well done' postcard to runners immediately after the race.
"We wanted to capture the race high," explains Reed. "If you could grab one of the participants straight after the race they would be at their most committed to what they've just done. So we decided to invest in an extra mailing."
Six weeks later another mailing is sent out to those people who have yet to send in their sponsorship money. This reminds them about what they signed up to do and aims to prompt them into action. But it is not an easy process. "Once people have taken part there is a decline in the race high. We receive the lion's share of the sponsorship in the six weeks after the event and then have to draw a line under the investment," explains Reed.
The Race for Life database runs to about two million records and sits separately to Cancer Research UK's main charity database. But the two databases do feed into each other for other fundraising initiatives. Reed explains that 'non returners', who enter the race but do not send in sponsorship money, might be passed on to the direct marketing department for a one-off cash ask. "We won't proactively invite the non returners to next year's race but they might become a committed giver or cash donor," she says.
As for the future growth of Race for Life, the number of venues is leaping from 174 to 250 next year and the charity's three-year goal is to have more than one million entrants. This is one event which will surely run and run.
CLEVER STUFF
Each race pack includes a number of personalised elements, including a running number which is allocated to each person when IdentexTPH runs the pick list process. In addition, every sponsorship form is personalised so that it can be matched back to the entrant when they send in their sponsorship money.
When people enter the race, they have the option of buying branded merchandise, such as t-shirts and caps. This is also sent out with the race pack, and staff can identify what has been ordered via the code at the bottom of the welcome letter.
A race information sheet, race map, inserts from up to five of the different sponsors, and a back sign are also included in the pack.
A thank you letter is sent out for every sponsorship cheque received. Runners who raise more than 拢100 receive a reward.