The Health Advocate | Amway

Don't worry, I'm not going to ask you for your resolutions or give you mine.  I'll save that for a later post!

With the new year, comes more changes to the Team Nutrilite family.  Specifically, with the end of a decade, we also see the end of a great, three year partnership with Jenn Stuczynski and Track & Field events in the U.S.

When Nutrilite decided to sponsor Jenn Stuczynski, her name wasn't synonymous with pole vaulting. We took a chance on each other. As partners, Jenn has gone on to set American records in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault for women, is the only American woman to ever clear 16 feet, is the second-best female pole vaulter of all time, is a four-time indoor and outdoor USA Champion, and an Olympic Silver Medalist.

It is with tremendous gratitude and respect that we announce the end of our relationship with Jenn. She was a tireless worker on behalf of Nutrilite, appearing in national television advertising for NUTRILITE Concentrated Fruits and Vegetables, and making countless appearances signing autographs at NUTRILITE-sponsored events for fans and IBOs alike, as well as attending IBO-only events during her time as a sponsored athlete. Her belief in and advocacy of the brand was evident whenever she made appearances on our behalf and for that, we thank her.

Nutrilite will also end our sponsorships of major track and field events, including the Boston Indoor Games, Tyson Invitational, adidas Track Classic, Reebok Grand Prix, and the Prefontaine Classic.

The 2010 focus is very firmly on our relationships with the Rock 'n Roll Marathons as well as the Phytonutrient Campaign that kicked off last October.

Please join us in a HUGE, heartfelt thank you to Jenn, her coach, her agent and the folks that put on these world-class events for their time and tireless support of Nutrilite's efforts in the sport.

Nutrilite once again had an outstanding presence at this past weekend's Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, OR. With signage all around the track, thirst-quenching Nutrilite Grape Sports Drink in the hands of athletes and attendees alike and the Nutrilite Mobile Brand Experience inside the gates, it was a perfect win-win-win.

In fact the athletes raved about the sports drink as "refreshing and great tasting and perfect because it wasn't too sweet."  Better get your hands on this great product if you haven't tried it before.  It's my personal favorite!

To top it off, Team Nutrilite star Sanya Richards posted the best women's 400M time in the world so far this year.

 For a complete wrap up, check out the story on ESPN.com.

Check back soon for guest posts from Team Nutrilite athlete's Jenn Stuczynski and Sanya Richards…

Named after legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine, the Prefontaine Classic is the premiere track and field meet in the United States. Athletes must be ranked in the Top 50 in the world in their events to be eligible to compete.

This is the third year of Nutrilite's sponsorship of the Pre Classic, and we have a tremendous presence planned.

For starters, 200 world No. 1 and Olympic bronze medalist Sanya Richards will be representing Nutrilite in the aptly named, Nutrilite Women's 400M race.  Sanya will be rematched against Olympic silver medalist Shericka Williams and fellow Jamaican Novlene Williams.  Sanya has had tremendous success at Hayward Field, going back to 2002.

In addition to titling the women's race, Nutrilite will have title presence in the Men's 300M race.

Leading the charge in the Nutrilite 300 Meters is Olympic 400 gold medalist LaShawn Merritt, ranked No. 1 in the world in 2008 by Track & Field News magazine. Winner of last year's Prefontaine Classic and Olympic Trials races, Merritt saved his fastest for Beijing, scorching a 43.75 lifetime best, making him the 5th fastest quarter miler in history. He also has the three fastest times thus far in 2009. Also in the race is Olympic bronze medalist David Neville, 300-Meter indoor world record holder Wallace Spearmon, the "X-Man", Xavier Carter, and Trinidad's Rennie Quow.

For those attending the event, Nutrilite will have the Mobile Brand Experience inside the track, where consumers can learn more about the brand and great products, as well as sample myriad Nutrilite products, including sports drink, energy bars, Rhodiola and Concentrated Fruits and Vegetables.

And be sure to catch Sanya at the Nutrilite Mobile Experience after her race, where she will greet fans and sign autographs.  The first 50 in line get a t-shirt commemorating Nutrilite's sponsorship of this great meet.

For those who want to catch the action on TV, the meet will be televised live on NBC, from 11am to 1pm PDT, 2pm to 4pm EDT.

This past weekend marked the 34th annual Nike Prefontaine Classic track & field event, held in Eugene, Oregon.  Team Nutrilite was there once again, proudly displaying the Nutrilite brand amongst all the action.   As the crowd cheered on, Sanya Richards raced to yet another Women's 400-meter victory with a time of 50.10.  This excitement carried on in the Nutrilite tent as race attendees patiently waited for Sanya's autograph.  In addition to Sanya, attendees also had a chance to meet Asafa Powell.  Liu Xiang, who was a tentative participant in the 110-meter Hurdles, decided just prior to his race that he would indeed be running.  However, he was disqualified after a false start.   When asked what happened, Liu stated "nothing happened.  I didn't even realize I had the false start." 

Catch Team Nutrilite athletes Sanya Richards (Women's 400 Meters) and tentatively Liu Xiang (110 Meter Hurdles) live on Sunday, June 8 on NBC from 1 to 3 p.m. PT (4 to 6 p.m. ET )and look for the myriad ways the Nutrilite brand is represented on and around the track.

Nutrilite is prominently featured in the current issue of American Track & Field magazine, and you can read the entire issue online: http://www.flipseekllc.com/ATFguide.html

Happy Saturday!

Here’s an excerpt of an interview Darren Rovell of CNBC did with Charlie Denson, Nike Brand President. To get the full interview: http://www.cnbc.com/id/20196911?__source=RSS%7Cblog%7C&par=RSS

Darren Rovell (CNBC): I can't believe how big 2004 gold medal hurdler Liu Xiang is in this country (China). Nike has debuted a full shoe and apparel line for him. Just how big is Liu Xiang?

Charlie Denson (Nike Brand President): When I think of Liu Xiang, I think of Michael Jordan in the mid 80s, I think of what Tiger Woods and Lebron James mean to Nike in the United States or what Ronaldinho in Europe and in the world of football (soccer).

(Liu Xiang signing a Nutrilite poster for a fan at the Prefontaine Classic.)

The Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, OR was amazing!

To summarize the race, this is my Top 10 list:

10. Watching Asafa Powell easily win the first 100 meters (and then some!) of the 200-meter sprint. Although he came in third for the race, it was easy to see why he's the world-record holder for the 100-meter sprint.
9. As you can imagine, the Sports Section of the Register-Guard (the main daily newspaper for Eugene) was the hot item on the Sunday morning of the Prefontaine Classic. I almost jumped up and down with excitement…. and yeah – I took a couple of pictures (I'm such a nerd sometimes!) – when I saw people in the coffee shop at the hotel reading our full-page Nutrilite advertisement on the back of the Sports Section. Full-page Nutrilite advertisements ran in the newspaper on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
8. Attending the Nike press conference the day before the race. Reporters from around the world came to interview the elite athletes that would be competing the next day. Nutrilite-sponsored athletes Asafa and Liu Xiang had the biggest media crowds around them!
7. Our Nutrilite tent! As a sponsor of the Prefontaine Classic, Nutrilite had a HUGE tent in the expo area beside the race track. It was the first tent that attendees for the race saw when they walked in the gates for Hayward Field.
6. Programs! Programs! Get your program! So, the program for the race was cool, but I daresay that the coolest part of it was our Nutrilite ad, which was right on the inside of the cover. How sweet is it that a Nutrilite ad is the first thing that the 13,000+ people who attended the race saw when they opened their program?
5. Our new Nutrilite commercial featuring Asafa Powell that aired during NBC's live coverage of the race. So, this one is kinda cheating a bit, because I didn't actually see it at the race, but I did watch it on TiVo when I got home! (If you recorded the race like me, play it again and look for the cool Nutrilite signs along the track!)
4. Standing only feet away from the finish line when Liu sprinted to victory in the 110-meter hurdles. It was a close and exciting race!
3. Liu signing a Nutrilite poster of himself and Asafa for an excited fan. Everyone that attended the race had the opportunity to stop by our Nutrilite tent and pick up one of these posters for free. 
2. The roar of applause and cheers when Asafa entered the Nutrilite VIP tent following the race to sign autographs and take pictures with Independent Business Owners (IBOs) and their families.
1. Meeting all of the amazing IBOs that attended the race and visited us at the Nutrilite VIP tent! A huge thank you to everyone that made it out for the race!

Some pictures: (You can find more at www.flickr.com/photos/teamnutrilite)

Asafa Powell Signing Autographs in the Nutrilite VIP Tent:

Me & Liu Xiang at the Press Conference:
 

This is my first blog, ever! Way exciting!

So, I guess the most appropriate way to start out is to introduce myself. My name is Melissa Charles and I'm a Brand Manager in Quixtar's Health Marketing department. I work on the Nutrilite brand, primarily with our Nutrilite-sponsored athletes and brand advertising.

Team Nutrilite is a bit of a new concept, but it basically encompasses three things:
1. World-class, Nutrilite-sponsored athletes. Nutrilite currently sponsors two world-class athletes: Asafa Powell (world record holder for the 100m sprint) & Liu Xiang (world record holder for the 110m hurdles).
2. Nutrilite-sponsored events. The most recent Nutrilite-sponsored event was the Prefontaine Classic on June 10, 2007 and the next is the OC Marathon on Jan. 6, 2008.
3. Nutrilite products that are great not only for elite athletes, but for the casual gym-goer as well.

This blog is going to be a hot spot for the latest and greatest details and inside scoop on what's going on with all three of those components.

So, what's hot right now? Nutrilite sponsored the Prefontaine Classic this past weekend, which is one of the top five track and field events in the world. Our new Nutrilite commercial spot aired during NBC's live coverage of the race and you can check it out here for yourself.