Seb Coe to Create IAAF Youth Communications and Marketing Division if Elected President

Rob Fawdon from Cairns, Australia, May 8, 2015: Speaking from the Oceania Area Championships and ahead of World Athletics Day celebrations this weekend, IAAF Presidential candidate Seb Coe has pledged to create an IAAF Youth Communications and Marketing Division to help Athletics connect more effectively with young people – empowering them to help shape and deliver the core narrative of the sport.

The Division would report directly to the IAAF President to drive youth engagement and ensure that IAAF events are presented in the most relevant and engaging way possible to excite and draw in younger audiences. An early task for the new Division would be to create a formal relationship with a world-leading organisation experienced in social and digital media.

Specifically, the IAAF Youth and Communications Division would:

• Identify the latest and most effective social and digital media trends and techniques to communicate with young people

• Advise IAAF in the creation of new Athletics events and initiatives that will appeal to younger audience – for example, building on city and urban Athletics programmes

• Develop links with relevant commercial and other strategic partners including a world leader in digital and social media

• Develop and implement IAAF communications and marketing initiatives aimed specifically at young people

Speaking about his proposal to set up an IAAF Youth Communications and Marketing Division, Coe said:

“Young people are the future of our sport and it is critical that the IAAF has a clear focus on connecting with them and to make Athletics as attractive as possible to as many youngsters as possible. This will be the focus of a newly formed IAAF Youth Communications and Marketing Division if I am elected President. As well as advising on how best to drive youth engagement, this new Division would help to ensure that IAAF events are created and presented in the most relevant and engaging way possible to excite and draw in younger audiences.

“It will be important also that the IAAF Youth Division puts in place a formal relationship with a world-leading corporation or brand with cutting edge experience in digital and social media. My approach is simple – we need to utilise the very best brains and be across the latest trends so that we can put in place a new approach to engage with young people, wherever they live in the world, and empower them to help shape and deliver our core narrative.”