Overview
As title sponsor of Bay to Breakers, San Francisco’s iconic footrace, Alaska Airlines wanted to weave its West Coast identity into one of the Bay Area’s most beloved events. Southport designed and ran the brand activation, building a series of hands-on touchpoints that turned the race sponsorship into a personalized experiential marketing moment for runners across race weekend.
The Goal
Bay to Breakers is one of San Francisco’s most iconic events, and as title sponsor, Alaska Airlines wanted its presence to feel like a natural part of the race rather than a logo on a banner. The goal was to enhance the runner experience and express the airline’s West Coast personality in a way the race’s passionate community would embrace.
That called for interactive touchpoints runners would actually want to use, before, during, and after the race.
The Experience
Southport created touchpoints across the entire race, from the pre-race village to the finish line.
Before the Race
Southport built a series of build-your-own stations where runners customized their own race day gear:
Live Screen Print Station: Guests chose custom designs and watched them being printed live onto canvas bags.
Create Your Own Race Day Kit: Runners filled custom tote bags with race day essentials like cooling towels, first aid kits, and deodorant wipes.
Custom Sunglasses: Runners built their own pair of custom shades to wear on the course.
Twitter Machine: Participants who tweeted their pre-race photos unlocked extra race day gifts on the spot.
On the Course
On-Course DJ Station: An Alaska DJ station hyped runners up as they pushed toward the finish line.
At the Finish Line
Post Race Lounge: Runners recovered in Alaska’s Post Race Lounge, complete with bean bag chairs, Adirondack chairs, and hammocks.
Custom Trail Mix Bar: Guests mixed their own post-race trail mix snack to refuel after crossing the line.
Client Name
Event Location
- San Francisco, California
Event Date
- 2017 to 2019
Services Provided
Results
As title sponsor, Alaska Airlines turned its Bay to Breakers touchpoints into thousands of hands-on, personalized moments across race weekend.
7,500
+
Custom race day kits created
815
Tweets from the pre-race Twitter Machine
700
+
Custom trail mix bags made at the finish line
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