Topo Athletic, the maker of natural running footwear, recently announced the appointment of Michael O’Brien as its new marketing director.
O’Brien brings experience in strategic brand management and digital marketing which he will leverage in partnership with Nail Communications, Topo Athletic’s advertising agency of record.
Before joining Topo Athletic, O’Brien was senior manager of digital marketing for Vibram Group, North America. He started his career as a footwear manager at Boston-born City Sports, later moving into brand management at Planet Fitness before joining Vibram.
“I have a passion for running, the outdoors, and innovative gear that helps you achieve a more natural and authentic running experience,” said O’Brien. “Joining a fast growing company like Topo Athletic is an exciting opportunity to merge these passions and drive important change in the footwear industry.”
Synchronous to O’Brien joining Topo, Nail Communications, an award-winning creative agency, helped Topo Athletic launch a new digital advertising campaign that celebrates those transcendent moments of awe we all experience in nature. The spring campaign, “In Pursuit of Awe,” launched with a 45-second video running on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Reddit.
“Our ‘In Pursuit of Awe’ campaign connects with runners, trail runners, and hikers on an emotional level. It serves as inspiration to get outside and appreciate those moments of awe we’ve all experienced in the outdoors,” said O’Brien. “The key tagline – ‘shoes inspired by nature, so you can be inspired by nature’— fits our brand perfectly as Topo seeks to be the recognized leader in natural running.”
Brian Gross, creative partner at Nail Communications, notes, “Other running companies talk about ‘how’ and ‘what,’ but we didn’t really see anybody talking about ‘why’ we run. In Topo, we saw an answer to that question in the ‘Pursuit of Awe.’”
“Tony is a visionary,” continued Gross. “We have worked with him since he was at Vibram leading the barefoot running revolution. We followed him over to Topo and helped develop the initial brand design. It was his commitment to connecting people to the outdoors that sparked the idea of ‘Pursuit of Awe.’”
