During the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament, New Balance launched a new advertising campaign. The multi-media initiative includes television, print, and online efforts to reach performance athletes with a primary media target of 18- to 29-year-olds. The full campaign tag line states, “LOVE/hate. This is the New Balance.” Specifically, the print campaign appears in vertical running and national sports publications including Runners World, Running Times, ESPN the Magazine and Running Network.
But as memorable as a well-conceived print ad or TV spot can be, the real power in running footwear brand-building comes from grassroots marketing.
Daniel Green, who is involved with integrated marketing at New Balance, says, “Our entire company platform is based on grassroots marketing. We try to do as much as humanly possible there, and then build that base. The image thing, for better or worse, comes after.”
Richie Woodward, president of Saucony, voices an even stronger opinion. “For a brand like Saucony, we are not able to compete at the advertising spending levels of the behemoths like Nike and New Balance. For us, being kind of an underground challenger brand, we have to work harder,” he says. “We will do our share of advertising but at the end of the day, we are going to win by personal, one-on-one relationships with our brand, with our trade customers, and with our consumers. The best way we can do that is by grassroots marketing. If we cant outspend, we need to out-hustle, out-think, outsmart and just out-work everyone else. Thats the way grassroots is talked about here.”
At its essence, grassroots marketing involves meeting existing or potential customers face-to-face in an environment conducive to a meaningful conversation about running shoes, technical apparel and lifestyle.
New Balance, in partnership with running specialty retailers, participates in more than 500 grassroots events annually, including fun runs, race expos, instore presentations and medical consulting clinics. All of these events have a common mission: to build a strong relationship between brand, retailer and running consumer.
According to Green, New Balance actively seeks out ways to support its retail partners local marketing efforts. “The stores approach us with things they feel are important to them and their business. We ask them how we can help. We try to help the retailers reach out into their local community,” he explains.
Moreover, grassroots marketing is more than simply handing out free T-shirts and product brochures. Brand-level initiatives are strategically focused on reinforcing brand loyalty of current customers and enticing runners who wear other brands to cross over to a competing option.
In its search for new consumers, New Balance has partnered with Fleet Feet to launch the “No Boundaries” campaign. New Balance serves as the national sponsor of the program and provides logistical support, product and advertising funds. Green notes that No Boundaries targets women and people who have never run before that are looking for a life-changing turn towards health and fitness. “Its not about improving your time, but about getting from the start to the finish,” he says. “Weve had positive feedback.”
No Boundaries is a national training program designed to guide beginners in walking or running their first 5k (3.1 miles). The purpose of the program is to introduce participants to the lifetime fitness activities of running and walking, provide comprehensive information about healthier lifestyles, and motivate people to think of themselves as athletes who have accomplished a major goal.
The programs curriculum presents first-time runners with a primer on footwear and technical apparel selection, nutrition, and dealing with common injuries. Local coaches lead weekly educational clinics and training runs.
Introduced as a pilot program in 2006, No Boundaries was used successfully by five Fleet Feet stores in 2007 and rolled out to the entire franchisee list in Spring 2008. Since the majority of No Boundaries program participants have little previous running experience, New Balance believes the programs message will be met with a positive reception.
“By bringing [new participants] into the sport and introducing them to New Balance, and assuming they have a good experience, we hope they will stay with us for a lifetime,” says Green.
Meanwhile, at Mizuno, the companys 2008 “Run With Us” program aims to convert existing runners to the Mizuno brand. Launched at the ING Georgia Marathon in March, the “Run With Us” grassroots campaign informs runners about the importance of proper fit and provides an opportunity for runners to take Mizuno running shoes for a test run.
The centerpiece of the program is a mobile tech lab that features two of Mizunos Precision Fit terminals. According to Eric Hills, marketing communications specialist at Mizuno USA, “Two of our tech specialists will operate precision fit machines to conduct a biomechanical analysis of a runners gait cycle and their foot.”
The Precision Fit procedure determines which type of running shoe best addresses the runners foot type, running style and preferred distances. Once matched with the appropriate Mizuno shoe, runners are invited to take a test run with a program staff member who will offer individualized advice. Participants also receive a free T-shirt.
Mizunos technical vans use graphics and television monitors to deliver information about the companys proprietary footwear and technical apparel technologies. Hill summarizes the programs objective as, “Get precision fit, go for a fun run and if appropriate, buy a pair of Mizuno shoes.”
Sauconys grassroots marketing approach also focuses on converting consumers to the brand. Woodward explains, “Thats where we are as a brand. Were moving up. Last year, we had great market share growth but at the same time, we are in a war. We need to get converts. We have loyal Saucony consumers who wouldnt run in anything else if you paid them. But now, we have to create conversion at retail. Part of that is done with the educational approach at retail.”
Sauconys grassroots initiatives range from participating in expo events at major road races and marathons to collaborating with running specialty retailers through events like Saucony Saturdays. “We will partner with a local retailer to create a fun event for their customers and talk Saucony for a day and hopefully connect with consumers at a different level,” says Woodward.
Woodward also points out that creating and reinforcing long-term relationships is important in determining which locations Saucony will support. “There are a million running events,” he says. “We try to be judicious in how we spend our money. Were thoughtful about the relationships we create with local events.”
With participation continuing to grow, runners are now able to choose from an incredible array of weekly race events and distances. But managing the logistics of moving people and materials from place to place can be a daunting challenge for brand managers. “I cant tell you the number of requests we get in a given day or week from new events that are popping up,” relates Green. “Its great for the industry and the consumer. They have a near unlimited amount of choices.”
As race directors introduce new events, brands are working to create sponsorship partnerships. In early April, New Balance announced its sponsorship of the ZOOMA Race Series, a new series of national womens running events.
The ZOOMA Womens Race Series is designed to inspire women to lead healthy lives by presenting more perks and bigger parties. Participants will benefit from localized online group training, one-on-one interactive coaching, and a lifestyle-oriented After-Party Expo offering spa treatments, wine tastings, free food and live music.
As presenting sponsor, New Balance will provide all 2008 ZOOMA race participants with performance apparel and will host post-race activities. The companys new advertising campaign-“LOVE/hate. This is the New Balance.”-will be a centerpiece of all communications elements.
Since participants at most major running events are exposed to a number of competing brands, standing out can be difficult. “There are definitely a lot of competing messages for the consumers,” observes Green. “Its certainly a struggle to differentiate yourself from what everyone else is doing on a given day, especially at a major event like the Boston Marathon.”
Although most grassroots campaigns are planned in advance, adapting to changing conditions is always part of the approach. “Our campaigns are flexible enough to accommodate changes and adapt between events,” notes Green. “Thats something we talk about. Every time you go to an expo and see what other people are doing, you think to yourself, How can we differentiate ourselves from that technique?”
At the foundation of most grassroots marketing initiatives are the brand ambassadors who travel from one event to the next across their territories. In many cases, they are working long before most runners show up at the starting line, and they finish hours after the last competitor has headed home.
Woodward acknowledges the vital role tech reps play in building relationships with retail partners and consumers at race events, clinics and expos. “Those tech reps are brand evangelists for us,” he says. “They know our story, they can talk our brand and teach consumers about the differences in our shoes and apparel, and describe our innovations. They are our instruments in the field.”
Woodward also points out that keeping the brand ambassadors motivated starts with hiring the right person. “The way we hire, its all about their passion for our sport. These events arent that much work for them-they love them anyway. Thats a big part of the vibrancy they can bring when representing our brand,” he says.
Green reports that New Balance brings field reps into sales meetings several times a year to keep them informed about new products and program initiatives. “That really gets them excited about the brand,” he says. “We think that goes a long way in terms of keeping them excited when they go to events. They want to be part of the companys success.”
On the careet front, spending time in the field is often a prerequisite for other corporate brand management opportunities.
“If they want to move up in the company, its a great track to be on,” says Woodward. “They learn all about our product, the marketing, and public and sales sides of things. They get a great baptism into the running industry. We try to promote from that group because they are so well-grounded, both in the sport and the industry. They have a good, solid base underneath them.”
Like most advertising methodologies, measuring the impact of a grassroots marketing campaign is an imprecise science. At Saucony, for example, Woodward looks for shifts in brand recognition.
“When we advertise, we use tracking services to measure the effectiveness of the advertising. Were looking at brand recall and things like that. The only other way we can measure the other things we do is to compare baseline brand awareness over time,” Woodward explains.
Green adds, “Its very difficult to track results-we look at programs we run in specific stores and look to see if that affects year- over-year sales. Sometimes its hard to justify these programs. Sometimes we have to go with our instincts that we know this is the best direction.”
