On top of making him the face of M-Pesa, Kipchoge will also be the service’s brand ambassador.
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 9 – Safaricom will rebrand its money transfer service M-Pesa’s logo in honor of marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge for the next seven days as he looks to become the first man to run a marathon under two hours.
Kipchoge will be the heart of the Ineos 1:59 challenge in Vienna Austria in a race scheduled for this weekend as he competes against the clock, aided by 41 pace setters in his quest to set a historical feat, one he missed by 26 seconds in 2017.
Safaricom on Wednesday threw their support for Kipchoge, and on top of rebranding their logo to ‘Eliud 1:59’, they will offer their subscribers a free YouTube bundle on race day to enable them stream the race live from Vienna.
“We are honored to renew our commitment with Eliud Kipchoge and to support him as he races against time. For every Kenyan, Kipchoge is a reflection of our resilience and determination as he has taken on challenge after challenge,” said Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph.
On top of making him the face of M-Pesa, Kipchoge will also be the service’s brand ambassador. The world record holder has also previously been a Safaricom brand ambassador under their ‘Twaweza’ campaign.
On race day from 8am-4pm, Safaricom subscribers will earn a free YouTube bundle by dialing *159# which will enable them access the Live Stream by the Ineos 1:59 team.
.@michaelj2 Redeeming the bundle will allow you up to 1590 Megabytes of YouTube streaming which will provide more than 2 hours of viewing time. #Eliud159 pic.twitter.com/D9lrDoJXJ5
— Safaricom PLC (@SafaricomPLC) October 9, 2019
“The last few years have seen Kipchoge emerge not only as one of the greatest athletes ever, but also as one of the most accomplished people ever. It is a privilege to partner with him on this historic occasion and as an icon, it is only befitting to offer our M-PESA brand in his recognition,” Joseph further stated.
Though the timing he will achieve in Vienna will not go down as a World Record due to the optimum man-made conditions, Kipchoge’s achievement will go down into the Guiness book of records.
The 34-year old travelled to Vienna, Austria on Monday and has already had a feel of the course. His technical team has narrowed down the probable dates for the race for between Saturday and Monday, depending on the optimum weather conditions.
