"Economically the event is said to have infused between seven and ten million dollars into the local economy."
- About the Ironman held in St. George, Utah for the first time in 2010

What local economy wouldn't want those kinds of dollars?

"After only three years in existence, the Hy-Vee Des Moines ITU Elite Cup has already become one of the most important triathlon events in the world, consistently drawing the fastest athletes in the world to Des Moines, Iowa..."

Des Moines?

Why not the New River Valley?

Handshake 2.0 is a proud sponsor of the New River Valley Triathlon, a sprint triathlon in need of a venue.  We continue to hope that it will exist soon as part of the Virginia Triathlon Series produced by Set Up Events.

As a company, we'd like to do business with triathletes.

Why?

USA Triathlon - the sanctioning authority for triathlons including the Olympic Games - has done comprehensive market analyses of the demographics of triathlon including The Mind of the Triathlete (.pdf). Set Up Events, in its Triathlon Sponsorships 2010 Overview (.pdf), highlights key points of those studies:

The Coveted Triathlete Demographic

• 81% [are] 18-49
• Largest age groups are 30-39 and 40-44
• Median age: 41
• 59.6% male - 39.5% female
• 98% have attended college
• 45% have a post-graduate degree
• 67% are business and community leaders between 30 and 50 years old
• Average [House-Hold Income] HHI: $174,600
• Mean [House-Hold Income] HHI: $133,200
• 93% gave purchasing advice in the past year to an average of 12 people

How many triathletes are there? 

24.8 percent more than last year, according to USA Triathlon.

In the New River Valley triathlete traveling area - North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Georgia and West Virginia - Set Up Events will register over 40,000 entries during the 2010 season.

Welcome, triathletes, to the New River Valley of Virginia! We don't quite have an event yet, but maybe you'd like to train here?  We'd welcome doing business with you.

***

Added 5/26/10:  According to The Roanoke Times, "The endurance athletes who ran up two mountains in Roanoke's [Virginia] first marathon in 24 years brought with them $350,000 in economic activity, event organizers said...The marathon 'is drawing attention to the world about our valley having this great outdoors'...Organizers said they expect twice as many participants to register for next year's event...'it exposes us to other people outside of the region who will come back to visit or - even better - come live here or open a business here."

Marla Kemsey, diamond expert and founder and owner of  Kent Jewelers in Blacksburg, Virginia, explains the context for buying a diamond engagement ring.

Kent Jewelers will donate a pair of half carat diamond earrings as a prize for the first woman to cross the finish line at the New River Valley Triathlon.

The Gemological Institute of America (GIA), a non-profit gemological research and educational institution founded in 1931, offers comprehensive information about diamonds including a Diamond Buying Guide and Engagement Ring Shopping.

Z. Kelly Queijo wrote a profile of Marla Kemsey for Handshake 2.0.

Video credit:  Z. Kelly Queijo

From Handshake 2.0:

The 2010 Virginia Triathlon Series schedule was posted today, December 1, 2009.  The first sprint triathlon with a pool swim in Southwest Virginia, the New River Valley Triathlon will be held on July 11, 2010. A charity fund-raising event, the 2010 beneficiary will be the Mental Health Association of the New River Valley. (Update:  The event was cancelled and is planned for the future.)

How nice that people will do a healthy swim, bike, and run for a good cause.  But Handshake 2.0 is a business news site.  How is this business news?

Set Up Events, the largest triathlon production company in the U.S. - with whom the New River Valley Triathlon has contracted to put on its event - has a very, very interesting all-biz presentation (.pdf) about who does triathlons and how many do them.  "The Coveted Triathlete Demo," page 13, may be of particular interest.

We asked writer Preeti Singh to tell us more about the business of triathlon.

From Preeti Singh:

*Every year Clearwater, Florida hosts the Foster Grant Ironman Championship, which, according to TBO.com, brings in millions of dollars to the local economy.

*The second largest triathlon in the nation is the St. Anthony’s Triathlon, which means huge money for hotels, restaurants and shops in the Tampa Bay Area. The previous year saw the triathlon bringing in more than $4 million to the St.Petersburg-Clearwater area.

*According to StarNews, the Beach2Battleship Triathlon at Wilmington, NC brings roughly $2.5 million into the local economy every year.

*More than $1.4 million is expected to be brought into the local economy in the Syracuse, New York area. “When a triathlete comes to town, they come to town with their families, not just themselves. So not only will you get one head in a bed, you get three or four people, which is what we're all about," said Katie Neilsen of the Syracuse Convention and Visitors Bureau. In the Lakes region, New Hampshire, the Timberman Triathlon Festival brings in over $5 million to the local economy.

The USA Triathlon, the sport's sanctioning authority, has a membership of more than 125,000.

***

Preeti Singh is a freelance creative/content writer with 15 years writing experience and a zest to live life to the fullest.  Based in Chandigarh, India, she can be reached at www.writingnaturally.com.

***

Handshake 2.0 is a contributor to the New River Valley Triathlon. Feel free to learn about sponsoring the New River Valley Triathlon.

When I read about the expected explosion in the use of video content and extrapolated from that the need for companies to communicate via video, I opted to get this YouTube party started ASAP.

While I'm a fan of a good elevator pitch, and certainly a YouTube video can be used to convey a corporate message or to describe products and services, I was hoping to try something new.  We've experimented with videos (here is our Handshake 2.0 YouTube channel) and I like our results, but I'm no expert on video production and find the process tedious. Like other members of the Fem Den, I'm into intuitive and am not "less tolerant of complicated interfaces" - I'm not at all tolerant.  These days, if I take a video using my camera, I no longer even download it into Movie Maker to add an introductory slide or some other gizmo.  I suck it straight from my camera into YouTube and click "Save."

While I appreciate Lindsey Eversole taking this video for me, I think I look tense.  About my company and its products and services, I feel a complex coexistence of confidence and peace. I asked myself in what setting I most often felt both confident and peaceful...

Jarred Foresman of Blacksburg Media - who is creating a forthcoming corporate video for Handshake 2.0 because he is known for innovation - heard me when we met at The Weight Club:  "Help me say what I most want to say with my truest, best self."

He did.  Even with my sweaty self.  And that's still a very cool splash screen.

Handshake Media, Incorporated, the parent company of Handshake 2.0, is a sponsor of the New River Valley Triathlon.

Handshake 2.0 is helping organize the New River Valley Triathlon.

I’m an early riser and as I scanned the lengthy triathlon to-do list, I realized at 7:00 AM on Black Friday, the only company that might answer the phone was a potential host hotel.

I will admit dreading it.  I had read Seth Godin's post on how companies answer phones, or don't, and I feared getting stalled.

I had already done a physical tour of hotels near the Christiansburg Aquatic Center.  I used Google Maps to get my bearings and to find contact information for the hotels.  I called one.

Just by the authority and assurance with which she answered the phone, I knew I was speaking to the manager.  I felt heartened and relieved.  Not only was the phone answered, but it was answered by a decision-maker.

Had I ever negotiated a host hotel deal before?  Nope. 

For negotiating deals, pundits offer all types of advice about strategy, usually involving withholding information.  I tend to be a mono-strategist:  “This is what I want.  Have you got it?”

I described to Cary Hoge, General Manager of Hampton Inn - Christiansburg/Blacksburg, the 200+ triathletes I expected to stay in our hotel rooms on the night of July 11, 2009 and to race the next morning, July 12, 2009.

I expected a pitch.  I engaged my ho-hummer for "You should choose us as your host hotel for reasons a, b, and c.”

It didn't happen.  Cary Hoge went straight to the value add:  Information.

In minutes, Cary Hoge told me about standard industry practices with regard to room reservations, standard practices for making group reservations in a particular locale, what the room fee would be before a group rate, and, when asked, who her competitors were.

She spoke the perfect blog post.

It was all about me, her potential client, not all about what her company could do for me.

Cary Hoge did in actuality what the best blog posts do virtually:  Establish the writer as an authority, provide industry context, offer specific guidance for specific situations, practice transparency about pricing, and include links to other sources, which could well be competitors.

I learned in my phone conversation with Cary Hoge that I had met the Director of Sales at an ABWA meeting.

I’m going to be able to complete this task better and more efficiently thanks to Cary Hoge.

A seed of loyalty was planted in a potential customer.

Value adds of information can plant seeds of customer loyalty?  Good to know.

Cary Hoge and I have never met.  Yet I already have a business relationship with her.  I e-mailed her the press release about the New River Valley Triathlon.  She replied.

Let’s see, which hotel will likely be the host hotel for the New River Valley Triathlon?  The one that was first to market, offered information as a value add, established an online relationship via phone and then e-mail, found an it’s-still-who-you-know connection, and never once made a pitch?

Or unknown hotels which may certainly offer equal value?

My to-do list is long and my time is short.

A pitch vs. a value add?

As a potential customer, I want the value add.

***

The New River Valley Triathlon will be held on Sunday, July 12, 2009, 7:00 AM, at the brand new, state-of-the art Christiansburg Aquatic Center in Christiansburg, Virginia.  A sprint triathlon featuring swim, bike, and run sections, the NRV Tri is open to individuals as well as relay teams, and includes a corporate relay competition for the Valley Cup.

Online registration begins Tuesday, January 6, 2009, at 7:00 PM.  Some Virginia triathlons fill within an hour.

You can easily stay updated about the New River Valley Triathlon because it, of course, has a blog.