Client
T. Rowe Price: a global investment management firm with a strong focus on community engagement and employee wellbeing.
Event
Staffelmarathon Frankfurt: a large-scale relay marathon bringing together runners, teams, supporters and spectators.
Sector
Corporate / event merchandise
Background
We’ve worked with T. Rowe Price for a number of years, supporting them with branded merchandise across a range of events and campaigns.
For their latest activation around the Staffelmarathon, they needed merchandise that worked hard across multiple audiences. Runners on the course. Staff supporting the event. And spectators taking it all in from the sidelines.
The ask was simple: create merchandise that feels good to wear, performs well on the day, and strengthens brand presence without feeling overdone.
The Challenge
Relay marathon events are demanding environments. Merchandise needs to do more than look good.
Runners need breathable, comfortable kit they can rely on across their leg of the race. Staff need practical layers that keep them comfortable throughout the day. And attendees want giveaways that feel thoughtful, not throwaway.
T. Rowe Price came to us with a clear set of needs:
- Technical running t-shirts and caps that perform under pressure
- Jackets suitable for unpredictable weather
- Functional accessories like headbands and wristbands
- Fun, family-friendly giveaways, including crayons for children
All of this had to be delivered on a tight timeline, with multiple product types landing at once.
Our Approach
We worked closely with the T. Rowe Price team from early planning through to final delivery, making sure each product was designed with its audience in mind.
Rather than treating everything as a single merch order, we approached it as a collection of purpose-led items, each playing a specific role on race day.
Going the Extra Mile
With the event taking place in Germany, international delivery and customs could easily have added complexity, cost and risk.
To avoid that, we leaned on our European supply chain and produced the merchandise within the EU. This helped eliminate unnecessary customs charges, reduced delivery times, and kept everything moving smoothly.
All items were delivered to our EU warehouse, where we collated the full range before shipping everything together to the event location. One delivery. One timeline. No last-minute pressure for the client.
As the T. Rowe Price team put it:
Thank you for producing such high-quality, impactful materials for the event — and for getting everything there when we needed it. That last part took some effort.
The Merchandise
Running t-shirts
Performance-led tees designed for comfort, breathability and movement. Lightweight fabrics, a fit runners actually enjoy wearing, and branding that feels at home in a marathon setting.
Jackets
Weather-ready jackets for staff and volunteers, designed to support long days outdoors. Practical, durable, and branded in a way that feels confident but not shouty.
Caps
Lightweight, practical caps for runners, staff and attendees. Designed for comfort on the day and easy wear beyond the event, with subtle branding that works in and out of a sporting context.
Headbands and wristbands
Simple, functional accessories that help runners stay focused on the course. Clean branding, subtle placement, and genuinely useful on race day.
Crayons
A playful addition for families and younger attendees. Bright, engaging, and easy to distribute. They formed part of an in-event kids play experience that made the already family-friendly event more welcoming for those with small children visiting the busy convention centre.
The Impact
The merchandise supported T. Rowe Price’s presence throughout the event in a way that felt natural and considered.
- Runners had kit they were happy to wear on the day and beyond
- Staff were comfortable, visible, and well equipped
- Attendees left with items that felt fun and intentional
- Logistics were streamlined, removing stress in the run-up to race day
Feedback from the event was immediate:
The marathon was last weekend and the initial feedback has been extremely positive. All of the materials went down really well.
And in a nice bonus moment:
The crowd were actually trying to buy the running shirts and caps you made for us.
The Takeaway
For international events, great merchandise is only part of the story.
When products perform well, look the part, and arrive exactly when and where they’re needed, it takes pressure off internal teams and allows the event itself to shine. That’s where the real value sits.
