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parkrun thread

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Velociraptor Jul 2018 1:40pm, 10 Jul 2018 38,588 posts	Quote Pin Velociraptor I am in favour of parkrun advertising and think that ad might hit its target, which is not those of us on this thread or the "pre-contemplation" population that I'm supposed to be preaching parkrun at. Advertising works; advertising healthy behaviours strikes me as something positive.
LazyDaisy Jul 2018 1:47pm, 10 Jul 2018 23,137 posts	Quote Pin LazyDaisy Advertising does work, I agree V'rap, but my thought was that this particular video is far too long. I think they got carried away with the idea and it should have been edited to be much sharper. Will it turn up on telly in between Love Island segments? That's where they need to target their market. It seems far too long for that. Where are they expecting non-parkrunners to see it, does anyone know?
auburnette Jul 2018 1:56pm, 10 Jul 2018 1,550 posts	Quote Pin auburnette I guess they hope that people might share it on Facebook, particularly those who were nervous about attending parkrun initially and might have friends who are similarly nervous. Which doesn't seem like a bad strategy as I'm always surprised by the number of people who find the prospect of turning up intimidating. Agree with V'rap that those on Fetch are unlikely to be the target audience
Gobi Jul 2018 3:08pm, 10 Jul 2018 64,239 posts	Quote Pin Gobi Designed to put anyone fast off What a distressing pile of tosh
Spideog Jul 2018 3:22pm, 10 Jul 2018 178 posts	Quote Pin Spideog It certainly has an element of showing that trying to run fast for yourself is a bad thing, and even mocks it in the advert with orange head band boy smirking at the lady in the purple shirt looking eager to "race" the parkrun. In their striving to be all inclusive and welcome one and all to parkrun, they are doing their best to try to not be inclusive and mock those who want to better themselves or try hard. Yes, you don't need to have go faster stripe winged trainers to take part, but if you do then that is fine too.
Gobi Jul 2018 3:34pm, 10 Jul 2018 64,240 posts	Quote Pin Gobi As I have said more than once. It is not the event it was when we started 3 of them. Very disappointed with that.
Spideog Jul 2018 3:53pm, 10 Jul 2018 179 posts	Quote Pin Spideog Remember that the events themselves are mostly the same as they were originally, just with a few more people and a couple of extra marshals. It's just HQ that has been changing. It has to in order to deal with the number of individual events and managing that more professionally, I get that. But HQ could do with remembering that they are just there to enable to individual local events and it's not the other way round.
TomahawkMike Jul 2018 4:11pm, 10 Jul 2018 1,388 posts	Quote Pin TomahawkMike It doesnt require deep thinking. To me it's just an ad that targets some people who may need persuading to get off their bums - which is okay. I dont feel offended or view it negatively as it's not aimed at those of us who have enjoyed parkrun for some time. This will work for some people and will create an awareness in others that may linger sufficiently long enough for them to come along one day. You cannot promote healthy lifestyles without ..ummm.. promoting healthy lifestyles.
Andrew65 Jul 2018 4:17pm, 10 Jul 2018 905 posts	Quote Pin Andrew65 I am not convinced that it would put fast people off. I get the points about it being a bit sneering at those who do want to run it competitively though. But knowing quite a few of those fast competitive people, they don't tend to be the sort to be deterred by such a message. Whereas, people who are a bit reluctant to attend for fear of being too slow, are.
Spideog Jul 2018 4:27pm, 10 Jul 2018 180 posts	Quote Pin Spideog It's not going to put off the runners trying to achieve fast for them times who already participate, but it can create the impression of an us and them between groups just as much as their claims of runner/ walker would for those that don't yet do parkrun. If the next generation of faster runners see that and get the impression that parkrun is just about walking round slowly and drinking coffee or eating cake then why would they turn up in the future. It's not just about encouraging the slower end of the field to participate and be active, they also need the next generation of faster runners as well. Whilst the current crop of faster runners may be confident enough to see through that message and ignore it, are the next generation?