Irish Life Dublin Marathon
The Irish Life Dublin Marathon is a major annual event held every October in the heart of Dublin since 1980, drawing up to 25,000 runners from around 60+ countries. Run by Marathon Events DAC, the marathon is held annually on the October bank holiday weekend, making it a major event in Ireland's sporting calendar.
Services offered: market research, data collection, survey design & communication
The Opportunity
Marathon Events Management DAC requested that the MDP conduct an economic impact assessment of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon after availing of the MDP’s services for the same purpose in 2016. The goal of this project was to carry out fieldwork in the form of surveying at both the RDS Expo and the Irish Life Dublin Marathon route and derive insights surrounding the economic impact from the data collected.
The Challenge
The team used extensive research methods in the form of secondary research and primary research (surveying) to assess the economic impact. This allowed the team to identify the economic impact of the event.
The insights developed allowed the MDP to understand where the figures came from and to communicate these complex findings to the client in a way that was comprehensive.
The Results
The MDP were able to successfully present the findings from the fieldwork in the form of a presentation to the client. They identified that the decrease in economic impact from 2016 to 2014 stemmed from a significant decline in international participants and attendees. They also were able to communicate with the economist that the client would like their own spending to be included in the assessment and to present these added findings in the form of an infographic.
The MDP achieved the objective of conducting an economic impact assessment of the Irish Life Dublin Marathon.
