the big half
london marathon events - a functional half marathon in a crowded race calendar, repositioned into a cultural celebration of london's neighbourhoods.
make the race mean something to the city it runs through. the core identity was built in three days against a late brief - and the idea carried past the campaign into a docu-series, big half: more than miles.
1 month
ahead of target when general sale for the 2026 event sold out
61%
positive sentiment across the event's social conversation - client-reported, a record for the event (2026)
3 days
from late brief to core identity
1 series
docu-series spun out of the campaign: more than miles
how it started
from the email record - the guy fowles thread, london marathon events, august 2025 on.
fri 22 aug 2025
guy fowles, lme's marketing director, opens a thread: "big half brand identity project discussion".
thu 28 aug
the brief lands - guy sends the big half materials.
fri 29 aug, 12:44
3 days of work later, the brand identity + activation deck is back on his desk. guy, the same afternoon: "a really strong identity and approach." one edit to the positioning line - and lme engages race week support: community sentiment documentation, influencer outreach, community leader comms, feedback monitoring, ugc curation.
sun 31 aug, 23:47
the long-term vision follows, sent near midnight: the big half 2026 campaign - sustaining community momentum from september to january to hit the sell-out target.
mon 1 sep
guy asks for the deck as a powerpoint - he's presenting it internally that week.
1-7 sep
race week 2025. we document community sentiment up to race day and hand lme the read.
fri 12 sep, 23:01
friday night: "the big half 2026 docuseries campaign - complete strategy" lands with guy, sanaa and joe. 10 runners. 10 weeks. 10 stories. the pitch that became more than miles.
sep-nov 2025
the sentiment read grows into an analytics platform brief with guy and kieran; candidates shortlisted; proper pablo joins on production.
2026
the docuseries is commissioned, filmed and launched. general sale for the 2026 event sold out a month ahead of target.
the work
- repositioned the big half from a functional race into a cultural celebration of london's neighbourhoods.
- core identity built in three days against a late brief.
- the idea carried past the campaign into a docu-series: big half: more than miles.
big-half-2026 - sold out - general sale
general sale for the 2026 event sold out a month ahead of target.
general sale for the 2026 event sold out a month ahead of target.
the result · client: london marathon events