Zimnat social media followers win trip to Capetown marathon

Zimnat today announced the social media winners of an all-expenses paid trip to Capetown to participate in the Sanlam Marathon on September 15 and briefed the winners, Tariro Makanga and Lilian Choruwa, on what to expect in Capetown.

Tariro and Lilian both live in Harare. Tariro, who lives in Highlands, is a broadcast journalist with a private media company,  while Lilian, who lives in Borrowdale Brooke, works for a legal firm as a conveyancer.

The marathon, which is the only Gold status marathon on the African continent, every year attracts 23 international running clubs and more than 15 000 runners, including some world class athletes.

Zimnat decided to give two social media followers the experience of a lifetime by running a competition on its social media platforms for the all-expenses paid trip to Capetown to participate in the marathon.

Entrants to the competition could either tag a Zimnat social media page with a video or picture of how they would get ready for a marathon with a partner or a friend or else tag Zimnat in a posted video of them sharing a story about someone who helped them on their life's journey.

This was in line with the theme of the marathon, which is Life Is A Marathon, You can't do it alone. The winning entry was the one with the most likes.

The competition attracted an overwhelming number of submissions. A total of 55 000 people were reached, with 4 231 engagements, 914 likes and 612 comments in just one week.

Tariro managed to secure the tickets for herself and Lilian with 327 likes.  Zimnat is sending them both to Capetown so that they encourage and motivate each other as they take on the 10km race.

Zimnat Group Marketing Executive Angela Mpala took the winners through what they had won and the activities awaiting them in Capetown, during a handover ceremony at Zimnat House in Harare today.

They are set to depart on September 14 on a direct flight to Capetown, where they will experience world class service at the Radisson RED, the 4,5 Star hotel where they will reside and dine for the duration of their stay.

The pair will run the marathon the following day, after which they will be taken on a sightseeing tour of Capetown. They will travel back to Zimbabwe the next day, September 16.

They could hardly contain their excitement at the handover ceremony.

"We are excited. We have been running marathons for years and are glad it has reaped rewards. This win coincides with Lilian's birthday, which makes it an especially welcome celebration. We are proud to be associated with Zimnat," Tariro said.

Zimnat is also sending to Capetown two staff members, who won the trip in a separate promotion for staff.

Zimnat Group CEO Mustafa Sachak said he was pleased with the huge response to the promotion.

 "With this promotion we have managed to cover our most important stakeholders, who are our clients and our staff. In line with our purpose of making life better, we always want to promote health and wellness. We are pleased with the overwhelming response we have received," he said.

Ms Mpala said those who wanted to stay updated on the winners' journey and share their travels, experiences and stay in Capetown could do so by visiting Zimnat's social media pages.

Zimnat is associated with Sanlam, the largest non-banking financial institution on the continent. It offers businesses and individuals a variety of products, including motor insurance, home insurance, life assurance, travel insurance, funeral cover, health and accident insurance, pension schemes, unit trusts and private wealth management.