During the COVID pandemic there was an explosion in the number of runners. While people were keen to get out and exercise, there was low awareness about the importance of recovery as part of a training programme. The easing of lockdown restrictions gave us the perfect opportunity to invite a select group of UK media and influencers to join London 2012 Olympian, Ross Murray, and learn how the professionals recover.
Building brand momentum
OOFOS Recovery Footwear has been steadily growing a fanbase from beginner runners through to elite athletes. The revolutionary OOfoam® technology in OOFOS shoes helps feet to recover faster by absorbing 37% more impact than traditional footwear.
Our goal was to curate an exciting experience for core running media and influencers to further build awareness and promote OOFOS as a key, indeed essential, recovery piece of kit.
To help us communicate OOFOS values and benefits in an authentic way, we had the services of brand ambassador Ross Murray, who competed in the 1500 metres at the London 2012 Olympics.
By introducing a new group of media and influencers to the brand, we wanted to spread the message about the importance of recovery and enhance the OOFOS reputation as the number one recovery shoe brand in running.
“When my OOFOS OOahh Sport Slides arrived, I was sold on them straight away. Not just in terms of how comfortable they are, but how much better my feet and Achilles feel throughout the day.”
Celebrating the return of group running
The loosening of COVID restrictions was a timely moment to invite key media and influencers to celebrate the return of community, group running.
We decided to keep the event at a micro level with only 12 guests as it was the first post-lockdown event for many and gave people a close, in-person experience with the brand.
Our ‘Train Together. Recover Together’ event was held at Battersea Park’s popular running track and guests were invited to take part in a session with Ross Murray and hear expert advice on training and recovery first-hand.
Supported by his former fellow athlete, Rhys Williams, Ross coached guests through one of his go-to sessions as an elite athlete, focusing on fast, short running to maximise the post-recovery message.
As soon as the session ended, all guests slipped their feet into a pair of OOFOS to recover while Ross and Rhys shared insight, tips and tricks, and answered questions on how OOFOS technology helps recovery.
To further amplify the event’s message, we created and shared content by Ross Murray on recovery tips. We also captured professional content from the day, including product lifestyle shots, to be used across OOFOS marketing channels.
A micro event with a big impact
27k
reach from influencer posts
3
articles generated from wider media outreach
18
social mentions
Quality coverage and new brand fans
The micro activation was successful in bringing core media and influencers closer to the brand.
The track session, the in-person dialogue with experts and the related content and social activity, amplified brand awareness of OOFOS in the recovery space.
Ross Murray’s experience as an elite athlete and his coaching ability and passion for track running made him a natural and entirely authentic lead. Together with Rhys Williams, the guests had a truly knowledgeable coaching team and this reflected brilliantly on the brand.
There was an excellent energy at a time when some people were still unsure about attending events in person. The invited guests engaged significantly with the brand, driving initial buzz on social and keeping OOFOS front of mind for future editorials.
We secured some strong coverage away from the event. The content on recovery tips from Ross Murray was picked up by Ultrarunner Magazine and on the Men’s Fitness Instagram page.
Coach Magazine also wrote a piece on running recovery and used Ross for comment, showing that our wider media outreach to non-event guests generated good traction.
‘Train Together. Recover Together’ successfully increased exposure for OOFOS in the performance running space, securing quality coverage in target titles and winning new brand fans across the running community.