In an effort to grow their existing run club and drive brand awareness Saucony decided that the best way to achieve these goals would be to put themselves squarely in front of dedicated runners on Strava.

The September Sixty dared runners across the globe to complete 60km of running within three weeks. Successful participants could opt in to receive a 30% discount on saucony.com, as well as to enter a prize draw to win one of 20 pairs of the new Triumph 17 – a shoe geared towards first-class long runs, and Runner’s World 2020 Editor’s Choice winner.

Having seen some previous success with a sponsored challenge in 2018 targeted towards runners in Canada, Saucony had experienced the impact a challenge can have on building brand awareness, driving sales and growing their online community. Keeping the momentum high and building on the success of their first challenge, the brand decided to take things global. Targeting runners worldwide, the September Sixty garnered over 100,000 participants during the three-week period that it was live, with an extremely diverse audience – athletes from 169 countries put themselves to the test. Almost 60,000 athletes successfully completed the challenge, with the average distance covered per athlete coming in at an extraordinary 83.5km. Proof – if it were needed – that Strava athletes can rise to a challenge.

Speaking after the challenge had ended, the Saucony team remarked that the results were “extremely positive” and that the performance had exceeded their expectations. By the end of the challenge, the Saucony Run Club membership had rocketed to almost 18,000 members – a 76% increase from when the challenge first went live. Additionally, the revenue generated from the sales that came as a result of the challenge was larger than the team had anticipated, with 87% of that revenue coming from new customers. One thing was certain – the mission to build brand awareness and engage with core runners had been a success. 

Saucony used a 360º marketing approach to promote the challenge through social media, email, and .com. They used their Strava club and social channels to consistently encourage participation throughout the duration of the challenge and to keep excitement at fever pitch. “It’s amazing to be able to use an existing platform and mechanism where athletes already are,” Jessica Newton, Saucony’s Sr. Marketing Director, remarked after the challenge. When asked about the efficacy of Strava vs existing social media channels, she remarked, “You can’t compare the two – Strava enables you to reach athletes where they’re living their everyday active life”.

The community of the Saucony Run Club continues to grow, and is the best place for athletes to receive regular updates from the brand, including training tips, new product announcements and community motivation and engagement.