The 15th inning of Game 5 of the American League Division Series last fall had an unlikely star: Humpy the pink salmon.<\/p>\n
In between innings at Seattle Mariners’ games at T-Mobile Park, participants dressed as different salmon species race along the outfield warning track.<\/p>\n
The pink salmon had gone two full seasons without a victory in the race. But on that October night, Humpy won. A few moments later the Mariners did, too, advancing in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
The Salmon Run seemed like a natural fit for Seattle-based Brooks Running, which became its official shoe sponsor this week.<\/p>\n
“We had so many people text and ping each one of us at Brooks saying, \u2018Hey, you should do something with the Mariners,’\u201d said Melanie Allen, Brooks Running\u2019s chief marketing officer. “We were already in discussions.”<\/p>\n
Brooks has called the Seattle area home for more than three decades, but Allen said over the past two years the running shoe company has put more marketing dollars into local events, organizations and sports teams, including sponsorship deals with the Seattle Kraken and now the Mariners.<\/p>\n
“When you think of Seattle, you think of Starbucks, you think of Microsoft, you think of Amazon. We also want people to think of Brooks,\u201d Allen said.<\/p>\n