Take The People Further: Inspiring Running Communities.
5 minute read…
‘Running is the new streetwear’ or at least so they tell me. I am not too sure myself. I don’t know if a sport can be compared to a fashion aesthetic. I don’t know if clocking a few miles on a Saturday morning can be compared to how your jeans fit. What is true is that running has grown in popularity, becoming more mainstream - perhaps that’s all they mean.
840,318 people entered the ballot for the London marathon this year, 261,696 more than the previous year. That’s crazy. But I can see why, I was there this year, stood on a random corner in Wapping, mile 21.5 to be precise, from 9:30 in the morning till 4:30 in the afternoon. There was a stage with live music, a Saucony beer in hand, and more than a few party canons. When the crew ran past the atmosphere was mad. On the tube home I entered the ballot – I guess that tells you all you need to know.
The Grove Lane Crew
Running is also touching more aspects of culture. It’s influencing fashion houses, like Wales Boner, inspiring collaborations we wouldn’t expect, such as Loewe x On, and it is encouraging brands in other categories to find running based stories to tell. The growth in the space has also allowed smaller health and wellness brands to grow from their founder’s own passions, such as; Lestat McCree, founder at Healf, George Heaton with Cadence electrolytes or Charles Wright at Humantra. Great examples of genuine purpose-led, lifestyle brands.
The reason I am capturing these thoughts in the first place is because for the last 18 months I have picked up the miles myself, increasing my involvement in the sport. Since joining Grove Lane, a run club in South East London, and running the Hackney and Brighton halves, I have had the opportunity to immerse myself in the sport through collaborations, brand events, pop-ups and plenty of kms in the legs. As a young studio at Unfound, we are inspired by the way running intersects with culture, the way it draws in brands from all sectors and brings people together in physical spaces. There are a few things I have noticed in the space, these might be tips for brands who are increasing their activities and showing up for communities, or just interesting notes, as brands race towards the sport.
Loewe x On
Don’t Sell
Interacting with running communities has to go beyond the sale. As a studio we are always talking to businesses about building community, educating or empowering customers - explaining that we believe the sales will follow. Well, running is a live case study for this.
As a sport that caters for so many levels, in one crew one person might be looking to finally invest in their first run-specific shoe, while another is looking to add their third carbon-plated super shoe, ready for race day. Or, one runner might be head to toe in Nike at an On Running event, while another hasn’t even heard of On Running... In this sense, running isn’t like streetwear; there are many sub-cultures and styles within the sport, it touches multiple generations and in one crowd, community or club there’s often a vast range of abilities. With the growth of run clubs, forming a hotspot for a brand’s attention, having a broad range of stories to tell is just as important as a broad product ecosystem.
Brands interacting with running communities have a challenge on their hands, to create experiences and events that cater for an array of audiences, while staying true to their opinion as a brand. It is perhaps one of the reasons Hoka have done so well in recent years, a clear product ecosystem, a focus on the everyday runner and an inclusive brand that feels like an open invite to people of all levels. It’s also the reason F&B brands do well in this space, for example, Lucky Saint, the non-alcoholic beer brand who know where to show up. Whether it’s a huge tent at the Hackney Half or a keg left behind the bar for a local run club, these guys have aligned themselves with the run community seamlessly. Understanding that the runs are likely to finish at the pub or that runners still want to socialise while making healthy decisions, Lucky Saint are often already there, waiting at the finish line.
Lucky Saint @ Hackney Half
Difference
As with anything, the vast amount of eyes on this sport have meant a sea of sameness has begun to emerge. From colour-ways to tone of voice, the running community is at risk of repetition. Whenever I am working on content with my own run club, Grove Lane, I often say in jest that I don’t want to see another linear video where a group of people meet, high five, run and then grab coffee. Brands have our attention, but more importantly they have our permission to mix up the narrative, to try new styles or draw parallels from other sectors. Trends effect this sport heavily, whether it is pink socks or the playful cartoon illustrations on the back of a t-shirt, brands must look at the category as a whole and identify the conventions, so they can break them.
And it is possible, Satisfy Running have broken so much ground since 2015, bringing a punk aesthetic to running and going against the grain to give us story-telling inspired by music culture and garments for the misfits – they gave us difference. And they continue to do so, their latest campaign ‘I Think I Saw You On My Run Today’ features a long-form, horizontal, short film that simply follows one runner through the streets of LA. The concept defies all algorithms and average drop-off times, becoming Satisfy’s highest performing piece of content to date.
“I wanted to create running clothes that would help people who were running… allowing them to experience or unlock the High. By taking what other brands consider ‘selling points’ or something, like quick-dry and moisture wicking, as a given, it's allowed me to explore a more romantic approach on performance. That's how I was able to develop my ideas around the technologies of peace and silence.”
- Brice Partouche, Founder of Satisfy Running
Satisfy Running
Learn What We Want
I was speaking with a friend who I run with the other day, Dan, and off the back of multiple running events, London marathon activations and new shoe launches, he said ‘I don’t think some brands actually understand why we are there.’ Running activations, and even campaigns, often struggle to get the tone quite right. Is it all about the new product, or is it all about community? Is it about fashion or wellness? Events can often feel techy, a little cold in the atmosphere or too focused on going for a run in a less-than-ideal environment. It is common for ‘easy runs’ to be hosted from stores in central London, where you might rack up 4kms, stopping at every traffic light and casually avoiding being wiped out by a taxi. Don’t get me wrong, these runs can be cool, you might get to trial a new shoe or there might be some good tunes playing, but they are often unnecessary.
If you want to talk to runners, the physical execution of your brand is key, as running is a physical, real life sport. There is a huge opportunity to inspire runners through brand activations. We run to socialise, we run to clear our heads, we run to challenge ourselves. How can brands meet runners where they are at? How can brands bring those values to life through activations? Runners like fashion, music, food, they care about new disciplines and innovations – runners are social beings, open to be inspired by where running can take them. I reckon that’s a pretty strong brief for a campaign or activation.
Wales Boner x Adidas
As a studio with experience in the wellness and a team with an appetite for running, we are excited by the growth in this space. The saturation now leaves opportunities for brands to show up with a point of view and take it directly to running communities. If you’d like to throw an event, launch a new campaign or even just share some good Strava routes, we are always keen to chat. Drop us an email at hello@unfound.studio.
