FM Winter 2025 - Flipbook - Page 32
Fizz Experience
Thursday 24th July and Monday 19th August
Fizz’s embrace of my Big Tour of England was just wonderful. The
agency, famed for its incredible client relationship with Costco,
aligned itself with the Big TOE strategically and in terms of
wellbeing.
An agency programme that was already in place raised funds for
Young Lives vs Cancer and the agency was consulted before
extending that programme to jointly support the Big TOE’s chosen
charity, The Brathay Trust. The two charities were very well aligned,
supporting young people with ways to transform their health and
prospects. Fizz also used the Big TOE to unveil the agency’s new
brand and identity. The team intercepted the tour on tow separate
days, the first on the Surrey Hills just outside Fizz’s Dorking HQ.
Thursday 24th July
The Big TOE, Fizz Experience and Denbies Wine Estate combined
forces for an afternoon tea to remember. I ran through the day with
Fizz’s very own ultradistance trail runner, marketing lead Andy
Youings who met me at the start of the day in Oxted and stayed with
me right through to the day’s end at Guilford Cathedral. Andy is a
very committed trail runner, a runner ambassador for the trail
running event organiser Maverick, and so was easy and helpful
company. He doesn’t love road running, but the road section of the
day was itself helped along by the pop-up support of a team of
runners from Simply Sports, the sports retailer in Reigate, who
located me via the tracker and came out for their lunchtime 10K.
After team Simply Sports departed, Andy and I took a trail diversion
to head up Box Hill, the infamous climb locally to a viewing point
with sweeping views over Surrey. An indifferent day cleared at
about the right moment and it was then a short run down into
Denbies.
Denbies Wine Estate is both running and brand event friendly. The
Estate – the UK’s largest wine producer – is host to various running
challenges through the year and also offers event spaces for
corporate entertainment, family days out and teambuilding.
Today felt like a teambuilding day. Andy and I ran through the vines
to a landmark oak tree, just as the threat of rain abated and under
the tree were members of the Fizz team in t-shirts that displayed the
new company logo.
Alongside our Denbies’ hosts we popped the corks of a few bottles
of Denbies’ famous Bacchus wine and had time for a relaxed
collective toast or two before heading into the Estate buildings for
tea, where Denbies had produced a pitch perfect spread.
The moment we were inside the rain came down. It was that sort of
a day… one where we all felt that luck was on our side.
Monday 19th August
This August Monday was one of urban saturation as I ran through
Warwick, Kenilworth, Coventry and Solihull in the company of
co-runner Mark Powell. The castles came first. Warwick’s castle is
better known than Kenilworth’s, but Kenilworth proved a really
good visit.
After Kenilworth came a long, mostly uphill drag to Coventry. Mark
and I had been briefed to look out for a pop-up from Fizz and Costco
and after a near miss duly found in Spencer Park, a pop-up aid
station complete with Big TOE branded banners and staffed by a
welcoming team of four, including – to my great surprise, Fizz Group
CEO, Dave Curtis. The pop-up location was chosen for its proximity
to one of the core Costco depots, a prime location for Fizz’s
sampling team.
30 Winter 2025
Footnote – Wednesday 31st July
This was a day when I ran through Dorset, from Fordingbridge in the
New Forest to Blandford Forum via the spectacular Cranborne
Chase. Dorset is one of Andy Youing’s favourite places to run and so
he joined me again for a second full day of running. It was a hot one,
and mercifully one of the shorter days for mileage.
This was the day when I reached the halfway point of my Tour, and
it was fantastic to do so in good company and with the reminder
that the Fizz team were following every step.
