Sponsored Otter app will set precedent for digital engagement within the running community
PT SportSuite, in collaboration with the Otter African Trail Run, is proud to announce the launch of the official Otter Community Engagement app.
With PT SportSuite only coming on board as an Otter 2020 sponsor a few weeks ago, the challenge to deliver a community app in three weeks, was in its own right an extreme undertaking, much like “The Grail of Trail”.
The app will serve as the digital resource for race goers, providing up-to-date race information, news stories and in a digital first for a South African trail race, a unique community engagement platform that will allow runners to share their race experiences with the Otter community by submitting photos and videos via the app – in the form of incentivised media challenges.
Runners to share their race experiences with the Otter community by submitting photos and videos via the app
The launch of the app is a continuation of the close relationship PT SportSuite’s sports mad team has had with the race over the years – with PT SportSuite CEO Rich Cheary having completed his 10th race in 2019. The PT SportSuite team will be well represented this year in the form of CTO Clinton Bosch, Head of Brand and Creative Jada Linstrom and athlete ambassador Nic Rupanga, a legend of the African trail scene.
The Otter African Trail Run takes place every year within the Garden Route district in the Western Cape, taking in 42km of pristine coastline, indigenous forests and river crossings. As the first major South African trail race to take place following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions, the event represents an opportunity to bring the trail community together again following an extraordinary year in sport and beyond.
PT SportSuite CEO Rich Cheary says: “When the team heard that the Otter was given the green light to take place, we saw it as an opportunity to share our platforms and contribute towards establishing a niche digital community of like-minded members. I wish I could toe the line, as I know each and every participant is in for a fun-filled and ultimate trail community experience.
“I’m looking forward to the community sharing their behind-the-scenes experiences leading up to and during their Otter African Trail Run, which I consider the most pristine and naturally majestic trail event in the world. We are privileged to be in position to provide platforms allowing community stories to be told in a way not seen before.”
Otter event director Mark Collins says: “The shared story is a core element of the participant experience. Our ancestors sat around fires and relived the hunt with their imagery recollections carved into the cave walls. PT SportSuite Otter Community Engagement app is our modern day way of enshrining these fundamental human rituals of recounted shared adventures, passions and meanings and adds tremendous depth to the event experience.”
