Fleet Feet, Inc. hired Ellen
Donahue to the newly created role of director of marketing. Reporting directly to
Fleet Feet President and CEO Jeff Phillips, Donahue, formerly at Nathan Sports, will work with the executive
team to develop marketing campaigns that ignite success locally and propel sustained
national growth and recognition of the Fleet Feet Sports brand. Donahue will also
manage all marketing functions connected to key brand strategies like Experience
2.0, Fleet Feets omni-channel
initiative designed to elevate consumer connectivity.
“With the launch of Experience 2.0,
its absolutely critical that we have a dedicated marketing resource in place thats
supporting our franchisees and overseeing all marketing functions, says Phillips.Having Ellen on board will
ensure were driving a consistent and powerful message that resonates with customers
and empowers our franchisees to engage locally and purposefully.
Donahue comes
from Nathan Sports, a leader in creating hydration, visibility, and gear essentials
for runners. During her six years with Nathan, Donahue rose from communications
manager to her most recent role as director of brand marketing. As director, Donahue
created seasonal retail marketing initiatives that drove category and brand growth
by double-‐digits
while also spearheading the brands inaugural H2O Pro Program, an effort designed
to help stores increase hydration conversion rates.
Donahue also managed Nathans first-ever public relations agency
of record to help achieve product accolades from publications including Outside
Magazine and Runners World. Additionally, Donahue managed
the brand experience at national events and expos, including the John Hancock Sports
& Fitness Expo and Boston Marathon, the Ironman® World Championship, and Outdoor
Retailer summer and winter markets, as well as led key brand message development
to all internal and external audiences including the brands domestic sales team,
45 international distributors, and retail advisory board.
Donahue comes on board
at an important juncture for Fleet Feet; its first-ever national event-Fitnatic Weekend
will take place Nov. 28-‐30,
and Donahue will drive the rollout at all participating Fleet Feet Sports locations.
Fleet Feet will also launch its e-commerce
platform in November, and Donahue will support the creation of brand messaging and
content on the site as well as the promotional strategy.
“Its an exciting and pivotal
time for the running channel as retailers and brands continue to evolve and create
new ways of engaging, attracting, and keeping customers, says Donahue. The entire Fleet Feet team
has an infectious and genuine passion for helping our stores and vendor partners
succeed, and Im pumped to drive initiatives focused on helping our locally owned-‐and-‐operated stores build healthier
and active communities.
Donahue is a graduate of Penn State University and a 2013
ING New York City Marathon finisher. Born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia,
she now resides in Morrisville with her family.
In the past two months, four new
Fleet Feet Sports locations opened, bringing the total number of Fleet Feet Sports
locations to 132. New store openings include one each in Asheville, N.C., Longmeadow,
Mass., Spokane Valley, Wash., and the Westlake area of Cleveland, Ohio, which joins
two existing Cleveland locations. The company was recently named one of Americas
fastest-growing
companies by Inc. Magazine for the eighth year in a row.
