The Chicago Marathon
The Chicago Marathon
Created a scalable fundraising ecosystem that empowered runners, elevated charitable causes, and fostered meaningful connections between personal stories and community support.
Agency
Digitas
Client
Bank of America
Scope
Design Systems • Creative Direction
Challenge:
Behind every marathon bib is a story. For many runners, the race serves as a way to honor loved ones, support life-changing organizations, and raise funds for causes they deeply believe in. Our challenge was to create a platform that elevates these stories and transforms personal motivation into collective impact by connecting donors to the people, families, and missions behind each fundraising effort.
Through compelling storytelling, an intuitive donation experience, and a scalable content framework capable of supporting hundreds of runners and charitable partners, we helped create a more meaningful and engaging fundraising ecosystem across the Chicago Marathon.
Impact:
Record-breaking $47.1 million raised for charity
Exceeded the previous record by $11M+
My Role:
Led the creative vision and production of the Chicago Marathon's fundraising ecosystem, defining the visual framework, content strategy, and campaign experience that connected donors with runners, families, and charitable causes. Directed multidisciplinary teams across digital, social, video, photography, and fundraising touchpoints while building scalable content systems to support hundreds of participants and organizations.
Oversaw execution from concept through launch, ensuring a cohesive experience that inspired participation, strengthened emotional connections, and drove record-breaking fundraising.
Balancing 50+ stakeholders:
Coordinating over 50 charities and client stakeholders demanded more than creative direction, it required thoughtful governance. We established a flexible design system that balanced individual brand needs (logo placement, background art, and photography) with enterprise standards. Enabling collaborative decision-making while delivering a visually cohesive, scalable experience.
a.k.a: We created a design system that needed to look beautiful, but also get the sign-off from 50+ charities with strict visual standards.
Impact:
By putting the stories of runners and their causes at the center of the experience, the campaign transformed awareness into action at an unprecedented scale. Through compelling storytelling, seamless donation pathways, and a scalable content framework, the Chicago Marathon achieved its most successful fundraising year in history, helping raise a record-breaking $47.1 million for charity and surpassing the previous year's total by more than $11 million.
The platform fostered deeper connections between donors, runners, and charitable organizations while establishing a scalable fundraising ecosystem capable of supporting hundreds of participants and driving record-setting charitable impact.
Teammates:
Sean Santos - Group Creative Director, Caitlyn Heiser - Design, Brigid Griffin - Design, Alli Dai - Strategy Lead, Madeline Loshaw - Content Strategy Lead
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