A Brainstorm: Brand Activations at Trail Races
My ideas for 10 brands in trail running. Hoka, Nike, TNF, Satisfy, Salomon and more.
Consider this a follow up to my earlier post calling out the lack of truly impactful brand activations around UTMB (or most races in running TBH). After talking to several people it became clear that there is a broad definition around the term “ambush” marketing. So rather than stop with my earlier article around UTMB, I want to go further and define my approach before providing my own ideas. The racing season is winding down but my hope is whether you love or despise my ideas they will at least get you thinking and that’s always a good thing.
First we need to understand that many massive, reputable brands have engaged in “ambush” marketing throughout the years. Typically it’s around the Olympics, World Cup or Super Bowl but it happens ALL THE TIME. Nike, Doritos, Beats, Lululemon, Skittles, AmEx - you name it and they’ve engaged in “ambush marketing” at some point. Unless these non-sponsors use trademarked words, phrases or logos in their marketing they aren’t doing anything enforceably wrong. This type of marketing is a normal part of the conversation.
Also, the connotation of the word “ambush” implies directly and nefariously impeding the ability of an official sponsor. While that has happened in some of these mainstream examples that is not what is happening within the context of this conversation about running - or at least I haven’t seen it.
From my perspective, the concept of ambush or “disruptive” marketing does NOT include being obnoxious or loud for the sake of it. It’s not the act of physically disrupting the activities of an official sponsor. That is outright unethical and would absolutely backfire in running. Nobody is splattering paint on the Mona Lisa in our world. I would define the “ambush” concept as disrupting the patterns of typical interaction, behavior or thought and coming at things from a different angle. The goal is reaching people in a different way and providing value for them that aligns with the brand message.
Neils Bohr is one of the greatest physicists of all-time who developed the first successful model of the atom. A true rational scientist, right? He is quoted as saying “You’re not thinking, you’re merely being logical.” Marketing is running is often entirely too logical.
So that being said here are some of my ideas for ways I’d come at brand activations around a race whether I’m an “official” sponsor or not. I’m of course not in the meeting rooms at these brand but here are ideas for Strava, Hoka, Salomon, Suunto, Satisfy, Nike, The North Face, Terrex, Lululemon and On.
Strava
I’d hold a Strava art run around an event and allow anyone to create Strava art for their profile. You’ve seen these creative drawings via an unorthodox run or bike route. If not here’s a zillion examples. There are people you can hire who design these routes regularly. Hold a group run and rather than running a boring out-and-back, create Strava art that is related to the event or the brand. Everyone would love the amount of kudos and social capital they’ll get from their network for such a creative workout.
Hoka
I have two ideas here. First, as the official sponsor, I’d offer shoe engraving both before and after the race. Runners can put a message on their shoes and carry their motivation through the race or engrave their finishing time and make their Hokas a keepsake for running what for many is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Go even further and setup a photo station where people can snap a pic with their kicks to share to social. It’s perfect expo stuff.
I’d also lean into Hoka’s aspiration to be the king of innovation within running and setup a concept shoe show like we often see at auto shows. I like the idea of a one-time event with a high end show-room vibe. Let us see your most wild ideas and designs to show us how hard you work behind the scenes to push things forward. Want to be seen as the leader in innovation? Show us.
Salomon
Salomon’s new marketing angle is Welcome Back to Earth but honestly I haven’t seen it come through very well since it launched almost 6 months ago. The brand has run with a gorp-core/mental athletic/edgy/artsy aesthetic that is very trendy at the moment but for me, bug-eye style sunglasses don’t remind me to connect back to earth. I saw Salomon organize a silent disco DJ on a mountain back in June - that’s a cool intro back into the outdoors. I suppose their new gravel shoe can be considered a transition away from pavement. I’d recenter activations around this idea to “break down barriers and reconnect with our planet, each other and ourselves.” I’d hold “airplane mode” events and make them completely offline. Shoot film, play vinyl and truly welcome people back to earth. Hold events normally catered to digital or city life and tweak them to happen in the wilderness. They’ll find their way to socials and they mystery of them will have an heir of exclusivity to them that will play into that trendy fashion aesthetic while being more in line with the larger brand message.
Suunto
I’m picking Suunto here because they are UTMB sponsors and could more easily integrate this idea into the UTMB live broadcast - but Garmin and Coros might apply as well. At the US Track and Field Trials we saw the heart rate of some athletes displayed on the screen during races. Suunto could integrate their watch technology into the live broadcast by showing us data from their athletes competing during the race. What is the athletes heart rate at the start of the race? Are two athletes neck-and-neck up a big climb? Let’s compare their heart rate, pace, etc right there on the screen so we can speculate as to who’s working harder and who will win.
Satisfy
Satisfy is an easy one because they are so clearly differentiated as a brand. There’s zero “everything to everyone” messaging here. I wouldn’t hold back and would just rent out a local skatepark. Hold a skateboard competition with a DJ and cool posters, and a tattoo artist on-site. Have the pros put on a show then hold a skate contest for spectators with prizes. Of course capture all of it. Call it a non-running marketing event. That’s not ambush at a running event, right? Or is it? I would attend in a heartbeat.
Nike
”Winning Isn’t Comfortable”. Nike’s new messaging has really resonated and shows empathy for anyone giving their all regardless of their ability. If I’m Nike I would lean into the suffering at a trail race - there’s plenty to go around. Livestream a few runners from their deepest darkest pain cave. Sure you can show us someone fast who is digging deep but mostly show us runners at the back of the pack, fighting cutoffs, throwing up, popping blisters and simply suffering to accomplish their goal. Livestream it on IG or Twitch. Make it really raw and help us feel like we are there.
The North Face
”We don’t play games, we play different.” That’s the shiny new campaign from TNF. The launch film and message are fantastic. It’s clear the enemy is the arbitrary nature of ball sports and organized events. The brand believes we should test ourselves where only nature makes the rules and those rules are consequential. It’s edgy and bucks conformity. In this context their race activations should rebel all that defines a traditional race - start corrals, crowds, aid stations, loud music, traffic, even the clock itself. Is it even “on-brand” for them to activate at races at all? On one hand I’d love to see TNF activate around what we saw from Nnormal this summer where Kilian summited all 82 4000m peaks in the Alps using only human power. This type of challenge lines up with TNF’s message and it has the power to potentially upstage the race itself.
That being said, one idea for TNF to approach a race like UTMB specifically is by leaning into PTL. PTL is a “race” that goes far beyond UTMB. It is 300km (186 miles) with 24000m of vert (82k feet) and competitors have 6 days to complete it. The event starts Monday and runs until Sunday. The route is not marked and you must compete in a team of 3. It’s required to carry a helmet, crampons and a carbiner among many other things. It’s hardcore yet gets zero notoriety. Many people don’t even know it’s happening. Can TNF lean into this event? Could the brand tell stories around these athletes? Could they capture and relay the intensity of 6 🤯 straight days battling these peaks? They could absolutely own it all to themselves.
Terrex or Lululemon
There’s a massive movement happening to make this sport more welcoming for women. We’ve seen it with the Here For The Women’s Race shirts throughout the summer. The PTRA has had well documented discussions with races, most notably UTMB. Trail Sisters provides recommended standards races should meet. Corrine Malcolm even lost her UTMB commentator job for being “too outspoken” in her advocacy. Corrine is of course sponsored by Terrex but we’ve also seen Lululemon advocate for women through their FURTHER event. These brands are both in a position to amplify this message and be an ally for female runners. I’d create a campaign around the question of “What if we treated all runners like women?” There are old Nike skateboarding ads along these lines. I’d have men watching women fill up the men’s room when they have to pee. Men searching for menstrual products at an aid station. Men fitting into women’s race t-shirts. Someone telling a man that all of this running will damage his ability to conceive children. You could go on and on. Drop a bunch of short skits on social. Hold a group run to show support for the idea in person.
On
On recently dropped a collab with FKA twigs for London Fashion Week. It centered around “the body is art”. I’d run with that idea and hire pro breakdancers for spontaneous shows in the center of town in the week leading up to a race. Dress them up like an ultrarunner and have them gather like a flashmob and pull off a coordinated dance for just 2-minutes and then scatter. It would no doubt be captured on social and go viral within the community. They could even show up spontaneously at aid stations or other times throughout the event and entertain the crowd for fleeting moments.
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That’s what I’ve got for now. Hopefully they got you thinking. I’d love to hear your own ideas so hit me back in the comments (subscribers) or send me a message. Thank you for reading. Please subscribe or share to support my efforts to spark conversation in our sport. ✌️
Perhaps not directly related to brand activations at events, but I thought that NNormal/Kilian's Alpine Connections project was 100% on brand for NNormal (GOAT doing GOAT things during UTMB). However, there were issues with the communication. Granted, most of what Kilian does is beyond most people's comprehension, but this was so far out there it needed more careful contextualization (before we get into more prosaic marketing communication issues...)