In 2014 former Southampton FC defender, Francis Benali embarked on what was deemed by many (including medical experts) to be an “impossible journey” – running to all 20 Premier League stadiums in just 21 days. He ran over 1000 miles and raised more than £265,000 for Cancer Research UK. Benali was named Celebrity Fundraiser of the Year by the Just Giving charity and won the inaugural Barclays Spirit of the Game and Cancer Research’s Flame of Hope awards in 2015. But that is not the end of the story.
The new challenge for 2016 is Benali’s Big Race which will see him visit all 44 Premier League & Championship grounds in just 2 weeks in a bid to raise £1 million. Every day he will run a minimum of one marathon & cycle more than twice that distance to cover on average 100 miles every day.
According to CRUK, 1 in 2 people born after 1960 in the UK will be diagnosed with some form of cancer during their lifetime. Survival rates have doubled in the last 40 years (from 24% to 50%) and fundraising initiatives are key to CRUK’s progress. As an industry, many of us have been affected by Cancer and it is for this reason that key Out of Home media owners have come together in support of Franny. Maxx Media, the leading digital media owner in the South of England is working with Outdoor Plus, Signature Outdoor & Forrest Media to deliver a tactical location based campaign to drive both awareness of Benali’s Big Race and raise funds directly.
As the most public communications channel, Digital Out of Home is the perfect medium to raise awareness of this challenge & drive website traffic to the fundraising page. The activity will be scheduled to correspond with Benali’s route starting in Bournemouth on 2nd October & finishing in his home town of Southampton on 16th October.
Peter Dixon, Managing Director, Maxx Media commented: ‘It’s an absolute honour to support Franny throughout this huge challenge he’s undertaken and with the backing of Outdoor Plus, Signature Outdoor & Forrest Media, we will be providing him & his team with the use of our digital screens to raise awareness, as and when he arrives in towns & cities around the UK’
For any media companies or individuals wishing to support Francis Benali’s Big Race and donate to Cancer Research UK, please either text Fran to 70200 to donate £5 or visit benalisbigrace.com where you can donate online
Media enquiries:
Peter Dixon, Maxx Media: 07831 441060 / peterdixon@maxxmedia.co.uk