AWI CEO Stuart McCullough presents the ‘Best of Boston’ t-shirt to 2018 Boston Marathon mens winner Yuku Kawauchi.

AUSTRALIA’S wool industry has partnered with global sportswear brand adidas to launch a 75 percent Merino wool t-shirt at the 2018 Boston Marathon.

The Woolmark Company joined forces with adidas in a three-year, three-way partnership with the Boston Athletic Association to target runners and influential consumers to lift awareness of Merino wool in sportswear.

The campaign is the first time adidas has co-branded with The Woolmark Company on a garment.

The Boston Marathon is the world’s oldest annual marathon and ranks as one of the world’s best-known road racing events. It was held on April 16 this year in Massachusetts, United States.

he Woolmark Company is the marketing arm of Australian Wool Innovation and AWI chief executive officer Stuart McCullough presented the ‘Best of Boston’ t-shirt to the 2018 Boston Marathon mens race winner Yuku Kawauchi.

Throughout March, the campaign built consumer interest in the wool t-shirt via social media, promoting the bespoke-numbered, individually boxed blue ‘Best in Boston’ Merino t-shirt which were awarded to the top 20 runners across the race’s 13 categories. A replica black Merino t-shirt was then launched and made available throughout the marathon weekend and onwards until sold out.

AWI said the partnership aligns with The Woolmark Company’s marketing strategy for sportswear and the campaign included TWC partnering with The Boston Globe to promote TWC’s ‘first-timers’ campaign I WOOL WIN – WON WITH WOOL.

“This has seen four first time Boston Marathon participants train in wool and their experience has been tracked leading up to the marathon.

“The assets of this campaign were promoted through ads on The Globe online, billboard trucks and on honour boxes throughout Boston,” AWI said.

Events manager Amanda Ordway trained for the Boston Marathon in Merino wool sportswear.

First-time Boston Marathon runner Thomas McGrory, a firefighter in Boston’s inner city said before the t-shirt campaign he didn’t know much about wool.

“I thought it was heavy and itchy, but after training in wool, I realised it’s the complete opposite and after trying to train in cotton for the first month, wool is the only fibre I’ll train in now.”

Events manager Amanda Ordway also ticked the Boston Marathon off her bucket list wearing wool.

“Bbefore I’d been using synthetic sportswear to train in, but after training in wool I have been so impressed by the wool sportswear.

“It’s so comfortable, light, and it almost feels like cotton but it has so much better absorbency, wicking away, and odour resistance – which is so good for workouts,” he said.

The success of this year’s campaign will continue in 2019 and 2020, while the Merino wool t-shirt replica is available for consumers over the coming months.

Source: AWI.