On has grown into a global sports phenomenon in recent years, with crossovers into the worlds of fashion and urban lifestyle. Yet, the brand has never forgotten its running roots. When On launched a global series of events – On Track Nights – Aspire was asked to give its signature UK running event the rock ‘n’ roll treatment.
The world’s most exciting track meet
On has always had a disruptive and pioneering spirit. For On Track Nights, the brand deliberately selects event partners across the globe that tear up the rulebook offering less ‘polite applause’, and more ‘raucous noise’.
Thanks to its unique combination of fast times, loud crowds and spectacular entertainment, the Night of the 10,000 PB’s is known as the “world’s most exciting track meet”.
With On’s backing, the event aims to propel the next generation of athletes and create one of the hottest tickets combining top-level performance and festival vibes.
Aspire’s role was to make the most of this headline event and cement On’s reputation with its core running audience, making sure the Night of the 10K PB’s would reach a wider and more diverse crowd than ever before.
“On Track Nights promise fast-times, loud crowds and festival vibes”
THIS IS LONDON
From warm up to last lap success
Our PR strategy and tactics involved four focused stages.
1. The warm up
Our initial phase involved warming up media contacts through pre-launch outreach in the London media, national sports desks, sports trade publications, health & fitness and lifestyle media.
2. The start line
As the event approached at Parliament Hill Athletics Track, North London, we looked at opportunities to amplify coverage. We invited select media and journalists for 1:1 interviews with On’s athletes for wider brand stories and began to feed information about what would happen on the night.
3. The race night
On race night, we provided live coverage through media partners and creators and owned media channels. We hosted invited journalists in the media tent with race night access to On sponsored athletes including Chris Thompson and Amy-Eloise Markovc.
4. The finishing line
Following the event we ensured imagery was placed and credited for race night coverage. Looking ahead, we secured ‘banked’ pieces in the run up to the 2024 event to solidify positioning across performance and lifestyle publications.
Victory vibes
462k
totaI print circulation
3.12m
estimated online coverage
1.4m
reach through advertorials
Giving running the Glastonbury treatment
The Night of the 10K PB’s was another exciting campaign from the Aspire On team. It was the second year the event was part of On Track Nights and it was fantastic to see the event’s profile rise significantly year on year.
It was an exciting, immersive and experiential opportunity to nurture relationships and share the latest On brand news and plans to over 50 media contacts and creators from The Guardian, Runner’s World, Women’s Fitness, The Run Testers and more.
The campaign performance hit big numbers. Our advertorial in Red Bulletin had a reach of 1.4 million and 297,000 downloads on the app. Coverage in The Evening Standard had a circulation of 311,000.
The social push had a 281,000 reach on Facebook, 140k reach on Twitter / X and 45k reach on TikTok. And a partnership with Esmee Gummer (@esmee_ldn) gained 16.6k total impressions before and during the event.
Compared to 2022, our work delivered 45 more pieces of coverage and secured the potential for more in the build up to 2024.
Most importantly, the coverage reflected the real sense of running community and big night buzz that will continue to make Night of the 10K PB’s an event that people talk about all year round.
