This morning, Melbourne corporate fitness freaks scrambled to register for the Nissan/BRW Corporate Triathlon. The annual event has sold out all registrations for its next Melbourne race in under an hour.

The triathlon originally began as a BRW initiative over 20 years ago but has grown so much that it became too large an operation for a print publication to handle. BRW remain the major sponsors of the event, along with Nissan, but now the logistics of the race are handled by sports event company SuperSprints.

Financial Review Group marketing director Simon tells Marketing magazine that BRW has maintained its affiliation with the race because of the perfect brand alignment.

“It’s really part of the brand’s DNA, it’s been 20 odd years,” Wake tells Marketing magazine. “The race is associated with the band and it works so well on so many levels it would be stupid to let it go.”

As for ROI, Wake says the sponsorship is not focused on calculable return.

“It’s not necessarily a commercial opportunity, we don’t get money out of it necessarily, but it doesn’t cost a lot to be involved and it’s great brand association. The brand alignment is a no brainer for us, the participants are a younger, corporate, high-end market, and they’re our readers.”

Wake also says the event, which runs across Australia, is not just good marketing for BRW, but also for the registered businesses.

“We get great feedback from people really enjoying doing the event. The venue is world class, especially in Sydney, you feel like you’re a participant in a worldwide event. It’s great for corporates to be involved, it’s an easy way to encourage staff to do something healthy, and it’s a brand environment where they mix with other corporates too.”