The Inaugural Philly Free Streets 2016: A Healthy Way to Explore Philadelphia
About the Project:
After reading an article that stated that Philadelphia was the least healthy county in Pennsylvania for the 6th year in a row, Beth decided that she and the brand she worked for, Snap Kitchen, should do something about this fact and the perception that went along with it.
Beth reached out to Mayor Jim Kenney with a proposal: to mirror the open-streets concept that was implemented during Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia in 2015 to create an expansive playground for Philadelphia residents and visitors to walk, run, bike, and explore their city from a different angle.
Mayor Kenney liked the idea so much, he passed it along to the Office of City Representative Sheila Hess, and Beth was included in the planning committee for the Inaugural Philly Free Streets event.
Primary: Event Project Management
Secondary: Partnership Management, Sponsor Relations, Public Relations, Experiential Strategy
After the City Representative’s office approved the plan, Snap Kitchen became the Premiere Food Sponsor of the Inaugural Philly Free Streets event, which took place on September 24, 2016.
In conjunction with the Office of the City Representatives, Parks and Recreation, Mural Arts, the Office of Transportation and Information Systems, Philadelphia Police, Philadelphia Water Department and more, Beth ensured that Snap Kitchen’s experiential marketing strategy was implemented throughout the 10-mile route.
Knowing that it wasn’t enough to have the event, but we needed data to back it up, Beth proposed inviting local tech startup Vea Fitness to be the event’s exclusive Technology Partner. Vea Fitness is an app which rewards users for reaching their physical fitness goals and is able to track, in real time, users’ data.
In addition to the technology partners, Beth was responsible for reaching out to the Philadelphia health and fitness community to plan activations at the event. It was important to the planning committee that there be a diverse set of activities to choose from, including dance, yoga, tai chi, nutrition and wellness education, and musical performances, and that the route touch upon a vast stretch of neighborhoods and communities throughout the city.
The event began with Back on My Feet, a nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, leading a run from the ‘starting line’ at Front and South Streets, and the route ended in the City’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood with live music and dance performances throughout the day.
The event took place on Saturday, September 24 from 8:00am-2:00pm.
Results:
According to police data, over 40,000 people enjoyed the inaugural event.
According to Vea Fitness’ data, participants ran an average of 2 miles, walked an average of 2 miles, and biked an average of 9 miles throughout the event.
Over 60 health and fitness activations took place along the route, including martial arts, dance, yoga, running, and bootcamp classes.
Snap Kitchen, the premiere food sponsor of the event, had 11 ‘fueling station’ tents throughout the route, and a mobile food tricycle which served participants throughout the route.
Surveys showed that 33% of participants learned about Snap Kitchen through this event.
The city has since continued the legacy, selecting a different route every year.