Regan Clemenson manages digital creators in the running space. She chats on trends, athletes as creators, Kofuzi, Matt Choi, why women are leading the way and predictions for 2025.
Influencers? Creators/lifestyle/algorithms/overlaps/intersections? Here instead is an old-school throw-down:
1) I have seen few CEO’s from major companies that give a shi* about social media. They don’t have the time to putz, and hire a young new person to deal with it.
2) “Influencers” mostly influence each other. People who spend a lot of time on social media think it’s vitally important, because that is air they breathe in the box they live in.
3) Runners have to participate, because that is their job, and they know it. Few get paid much more than free shoes, and unlike in other sports there essentially is no prize money in MUT running. It’s an odd and different business model.
4) Professional MUT runners (Mountain-Ultra-Trail) are moving billboards. Brands are paying for impressions, just like a banner ad, or a teardrop banner at a race, which is why to be of value runners have to self-generate those impressions.
5) 14 months ago there was a big social-media storm re the UTMB Group screwing Gary Robbins, their predatory business tactics, and strident calls for a boycott. In the ensuing 6 months applications for UTMB events went UP about 30%.
6) Two weeks ago another tempest-in-a-teapot boiled up re Nike copying the “moth-eaten” look of tiny-brand Satisfy. Could Nike weather the social media storm? Better question: Did Phil Knight’s net worth of 35.1 billion dollars go down by 10 cents?
The above may have some exaggerations, but thought I’d perk up the convo!
This is a cool format with the key points from the conversation so you can get the gist from a quick read, and if you want to go deep you can tune into the full conversation. 👌🏼
Thanks Ken! I personally get even more value from the conversation by breaking it down in writing to fully digest it. I thought others might as well. And yes, the conversation goes deeper on all these points and others!
It's absolutely wild how bad Strava is at leveraging engagement and high-profile athletes/influencers on their platform. Sitting on a social media gold mine and just offering zero tools to utilize it.
I've heard zero good things about the goings on inside Strava from friends that helped build the platform over the years. I've always maintained they're just #'s gathering in hopes for a sale. They do absolutely ZERO with the stranglehold they have on the market. My interactions / suggestions / feedback has been met with a damn-near 'Stay in your lane, we don't want to do that' corporate response. Then look at all the drama with athlete badges, those that were (lol) dropped by Strava who are WR holders. They're ripe for a torpedoing. Someone doing all of the things they refuse to.
Strava continues to be a highly successful mystery. Their new'ish CEO is likely there prepping it for a sale. Disabling all URL's was very annoying, but would you rather be bombarded with banner ads? Overall, Strava has been an incredible gift.
Influencers? Creators/lifestyle/algorithms/overlaps/intersections? Here instead is an old-school throw-down:
1) I have seen few CEO’s from major companies that give a shi* about social media. They don’t have the time to putz, and hire a young new person to deal with it.
2) “Influencers” mostly influence each other. People who spend a lot of time on social media think it’s vitally important, because that is air they breathe in the box they live in.
3) Runners have to participate, because that is their job, and they know it. Few get paid much more than free shoes, and unlike in other sports there essentially is no prize money in MUT running. It’s an odd and different business model.
4) Professional MUT runners (Mountain-Ultra-Trail) are moving billboards. Brands are paying for impressions, just like a banner ad, or a teardrop banner at a race, which is why to be of value runners have to self-generate those impressions.
5) 14 months ago there was a big social-media storm re the UTMB Group screwing Gary Robbins, their predatory business tactics, and strident calls for a boycott. In the ensuing 6 months applications for UTMB events went UP about 30%.
6) Two weeks ago another tempest-in-a-teapot boiled up re Nike copying the “moth-eaten” look of tiny-brand Satisfy. Could Nike weather the social media storm? Better question: Did Phil Knight’s net worth of 35.1 billion dollars go down by 10 cents?
The above may have some exaggerations, but thought I’d perk up the convo!
This is a cool format with the key points from the conversation so you can get the gist from a quick read, and if you want to go deep you can tune into the full conversation. 👌🏼
Thanks Ken! I personally get even more value from the conversation by breaking it down in writing to fully digest it. I thought others might as well. And yes, the conversation goes deeper on all these points and others!
It's absolutely wild how bad Strava is at leveraging engagement and high-profile athletes/influencers on their platform. Sitting on a social media gold mine and just offering zero tools to utilize it.
I've heard zero good things about the goings on inside Strava from friends that helped build the platform over the years. I've always maintained they're just #'s gathering in hopes for a sale. They do absolutely ZERO with the stranglehold they have on the market. My interactions / suggestions / feedback has been met with a damn-near 'Stay in your lane, we don't want to do that' corporate response. Then look at all the drama with athlete badges, those that were (lol) dropped by Strava who are WR holders. They're ripe for a torpedoing. Someone doing all of the things they refuse to.
Agree 100%, and I've heard similar things as well. Really puzzling. Either sell or just wait until someone supplants your product, I guess.
It seems like they can't decide if they're a tool or a social platform, so they sort of do both, but neither as good as they could.
Yes, this exactly
Strava continues to be a highly successful mystery. Their new'ish CEO is likely there prepping it for a sale. Disabling all URL's was very annoying, but would you rather be bombarded with banner ads? Overall, Strava has been an incredible gift.
indeed. like killing links. WTF? they could be an amazing content hub, but instead they butchered this feature.
I totally agree. I just don't see any vision for what they want to be.