Ironman and myList Announce Social Media Sponsorship

IRONMAN announces myList as presenting sponsor of the 2012 IRONMAN World Championship, making it the first major global endurance event with a social media presenting sponsor.

Today, IRONMAN announces myList as the presenting sponsor of the 34th IRONMAN® World Championship, taking place on Oct. 13, 2012, in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i. myList is a newlylaunched Facebook®-platform social application that helps users discover, save and share things among their Facebook friends.

According to research, 80 percent of U.S. social network users prefer to connect with the brands and people they care about through Facebook. Because it is a native Facebook-platform app, as the user is interacting among friends and trusted Facebook pages, myList transforms the social sharing experience from “crowd-sourced” picture viewing into a connected community of self-expression and discovery made up of things and people that matter.

At the IRONMAN World Championship, more than 1,850 athletes embark on a 140.6-mile journey designed to test mind, body and spirit. The global IRONMAN brand has a portfolio of social platforms that provides informative and engaging multimedia content each day while attracting the largest global fan base in endurance sport. For the millions of international fans and viewers of the event, the myList partnership will provide unprecedented opportunities to learn from, and be inspired by, these remarkable athletes.

Erik Vervloet, Chief Marketing Officer of World Triathlon Corporation (d/b/a IRONMAN) says, “IRONMAN already has the highest engagement rate in the endurance sport industry, reaching millions of athletes and enthusiasts across social platforms every day. We’re excited about this alliance because myList will bring additional value to this closely connected community, helping athletes and their supporters discover and collaborate on the topics that are the most meaningful to them.”

myList Chief Executive Officer Rob Wight continues, “myList was built inside of Facebook so that each user’s experience could be personalized to that person – filtered through the collective lenses of the people and things that matter most to them. IRONMAN has a passionate fan community that is a natural fit in myList, providing a space where they can socially discover, share and save the things that will help them reach their impressive goals.”

myList and IRONMAN have a number of surprises planned in the weeks leading up to the IRONMAN World Championship. The first one will take place in September, when the leading male and female IRONMAN World Championship contenders will reveal their lists of favorite equipment, training tools, nutrition and more. Fans will be invited to interact with these lists, and will even have opportunities to win some of the tools used by the pros! To stay apprised of these events, simply go to the IRONMAN Facebook page and “Like” it (Facebook.com/IronmanTri).

For more information on IRONMAN, visit www.ironman.com. Learn more about myList at www.mylist.com.