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Great Eastern Life gets Malaysians running [GALLERY]

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COMPANY:GREAT EASTERN LIFEEVENT:LIVE GREAT RUN 2013DATE:15 SEPTEMBER 2013LOCALE:MALAYSIAEVENT OBJECTIVE:To promote the brand's Live Great Programme to Malaysians to live healthier, better and longer. This was done through a marathon event to encourage its customers to take ownership of healthy living.EXECUTION:Great Eastern Life sent out email invitations one week before the event to the media. Public announcements were also made through the media and the official website to call for participation from the general public.While media personnel who were invited were selected based on the audience profile of their publications, the Great Eastern Live Great Run 2013 was targeted at the general audience, aimed at inspiring them to lead a healthier and better lifestyle.For the participants of the Great Eastern Live Great Run 2013, registration was opened in June.Great Eastern Life also organised several pre-event activities and also online. One of it was the #livegreatpledge contest where participants were encouraged to personalise their tributes using the hashtag via Twitter or to snap a photo and post it on Instagram using the same hashtag.Great Eastern Life also engaged Albert Tan, the head of the Exercise Physiology Expert Centre at the National Sports Institute of Malaysia (ISN) to provide running tips online for a safe and enjoyable run.Running clinics were also organised to increase awareness on preparations for the run and to help the public prepare for the actual run.The run took place at Menara MATRADE, Kuala Lumpur and the event was split into different race distances: A 12KM and a 3KM run.The 12KM race route took runners past Bukit Tunku, Lebuhraya Mahameru, Jalan Kuching and Persiaran Dutamas while the runners taking part in the 3KM ran past Menara MATRADE, including Jabatan Kastam and Eksais Diraja Malaysia.Participants taking part in the 12KM run had to weave though a mini labyrinth, and jump over road obstacles formed by water barriers that were set up along the race route.For the 3KM run category, the event required teams of two participants each to wear a single oversized t-shirt to run in tandem. Many participants of the 3KM category also dressed themselves up in an attempt to win the Best Headgear award and practiced to win the Best Dance Moves award, while participants bridged the generation gap to try winning the Biggest Age Gap Team award.RESULTS:The event attracted close to 4500 participants, with the youngest aged 16 years while the oldest was 70 years old. The event also saw runners spanning 37 different nationalities.Following the event, there was an increase of 3,895 Facebook likes throughout the registration period and the talkability rate was an average of 320 Facebook users per day on social media channels during the registration period of 3 June to 30 August 2013.The event also saw several enquiries and interest in the lead up to the event.There was also PR coverage across The Star Online broadcast portal and in dailies such as The Star, New Straits Times, China Press, Nanyang Siang Pau and Utusan Malaysia.LESSONS LEARNED:One of the biggest challenges in organising the event was a clash between two other runs taking place the very same day as the Great Eastern Live Great Run.In the final months leading up to the Great Eastern Live Great Run, the organising committee received updates that two other runs would be held on the same day. One of the conflicting runs was a result of a rescheduling action due to the mid-year haze which enveloped the Klang Valley, Dato Koh Yaw Hui, director and chief executive officer of Great Eastern Life said.To overcome this challenge, the Great Eastern Live Great Run committee decided to proceed with the selected date and worked hard to ensure that the Great Eastern Live Great Run would provide a differentiated and unique experience for the runners. The race organiser of the Great Eastern Live Great Run also met up with the organisers of the conflicting runs to discuss and ensure that all three runs would not pose logistical and safety issues such as clashing race routes. In the end, all three runs proceeded smoothly on the same day.What were some contingency plans for the event?In the planning of the event, the Great Eastern Live Great Run committee and race organiser put together a crisis communication Plan, which detailed the appropriate measures to be taken in various scenarios such as intermittent bad weather, haze etc.For future events, Great Eastern Life will continue to strive to be more innovative and committed in order to motivate Malaysians to live a healthier and better lifestyle. 

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