The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) has appointed award-winning creative agency MATTA to deliver the campaign for the upcoming PTO flagship event, the inaugural Collins Cup.
MATTA is the latest in a number of appointments by PTO for The Collins Cup. Recently the organisation has hired FilmNova for live coverage, and Weber Shandwick as the event’s global PR agency.
Named after Judy and John Collins, who founded the sport of long-distance triathlon in 1978, the event is scheduled to take place on August 28, 2021 at the x-bionic sphere sports resort in Šamorín, near Bratislava, Slovakia.
A key thrust of MATTA’s brief is to deliver the multi-channel promotional campaign in the months leading up to the inaugural Collins Cup – a new race format modelled after the Ryder Cup, which will see teams of International, European and USA athletes pitted against one another.
‘The Collins Cup aims to create and leverage the excitement, rivalry, drama and personalities of the sport of triathlon to attract a wider fan base.’
Tim Godfrey, Chief Marketing Officer of the PTO, said “Through our innovative ownership model, market leading gender equality policies including equal prize purses, equal broadcast airtime and paid maternity leave as well as the global broadcast of The Collins Cup, with a record-setting prize purse of US$1.5m, the PTO is impacting the sports world and bringing new opportunities to athletes and fans like never before.
“We are thrilled to be working with an agency of MATTA’s creative stature and global experience to help do our great sport of triathlon justice – and tell the captivating stories of our athletes to a large, global audience.”
In appointing MATTA – an award-winning agency that has run the global creative campaign for another athlete-led sporting body, the ATP for over three years – the PTO notes that it has ‘signalled its ambition to broaden the profile of triathlon and attract a wider fan base.’
Matt Campbell, Executive Creative Director, MATTA, said “Since it arrived on the scene, The Professional Triathletes Organisation has clearly demonstrated its ambition to transform triathlon from an increasingly popular participation sport into a broader, mass-consumed, fan-friendly international sporting property.
“We look forward to helping raise the profile of the PTO’s Collins Cup, led through the captivating stories of the athletes, to a global audience in 2021. We are delighted to partner with an innovative, disruptive sports organisation on its flagship event, and look forward to playing our part in changing how triathlon is seen.”
The Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO) is a not-for-profit entity consisting of both men and women professional triathletes who have come together to form a representative body. The PTO adds that it… ‘seeks to showcase the passion, talents, determination, struggles and achievements of its dedicated professionals through iconic events, reimagined broadcast and compelling storytelling, inspiring global sports fans to watch, engage and participate in triathlon.’
