Behind Hoka’s bid to own the NYC marathon’s run-up period

The company has been logging the progress of the city’s runners on a sponsored Strava challenge, using digital billboards as scorecards for the city’s boroughs. 

According to Allie Tsavdarides, vp of North America Marketing at Hoka, the work aims to put the brand in “conversation” with the running community. “The big day is always very exciting, but there’s a hell of a lot of work that goes into the training,” she said. “Instead of this being a Hoka advertisement, we really wanted to use that space to talk about our community, talk about our runners and celebrate the progress.”

The campaign, which was created by agency Jellyfish, has employed a triangular media mix combining paid social activity on TikTok and Meta, six creator partnerships and digital out-of-home (DOOH) sites across New York City. The campaign leads up to a block party Hoka is hosting in the city this weekend (Oct. 3), which will in turn become the subject of its messaging in the weeks after. Tsavdarides declined to share financial specifics. 

Michael Walsh Kirwan, vp and creative director at Jellyfish, said the campaign’s media mix was designed to provoke participants to engage over time with the outdoor activity. “It’s a citywide activation that’s going to motivate people to lace up and get after it, and move the numbers,” said Kirwan. “They’ll see literal change reflected back to them. I think that’s a powerful thing for a brand to do.” 

Run clubs and rising participation in marathons — last year’s New York City marathon saw over 59,000 people finish — have turned running from a solitary pursuit into a social one. 

“We’re in the middle of a huge boom [in running],” said eMarketer analyst ( and ultra-runner) Sky Canaves. “The run scene has changed a lot in the last couple of years. Run clubs used to be more competition focused… The big explosion has been in socially oriented run clubs. They’re open to all.”

Brands including Hoka have accordingly increased their efforts to appeal to the running community, via club sponsorships and creator marketing, Canaves noted.

Running communities have become important constituencies for brands in the category not only because dedicated runners might spend more on shoe purchases, but because they help spur word of mouth.

Dan Salkey, co-founder of indie agency Small World, argued that engagement can be more effective than one-way digital advertising messages. “They actually can genuinely own an audience that can be evangelists for their brand,” said Salkey. “That conversation won’t be happening in the comment section of their Instagram posts.”

Hoka’s media mix reflects its aim of reaching running communities, rather than just solo sports enthusiasts. Salkey said the strategy could give Hoka “trust and social proof built through creators, amplified by paid media, and then the big brand effect of digital out of home on the top of it.”

While rivals like Nike have struggled in recent years, Hoka has been one of the primary beneficiaries of the running renaissance. Hoka’s global revenues hit $704 million in the first quarter of this year, an 8% rise. According to Stefano Caroti, CEO, president and director of Hoka’s parent firm Deckers Outdoor Group, the brand is expected to post growth in the “low double digits” across the remainder of the year.

That’s been matched by higher marketing investments from Deckers. Per its first-quarter earnings report, which was issued in July, Hoka’s sales and administrative expenses rose 13% year on year to $420 million, a rise primarily credited to higher marketing expenses by CFO Steven J. Fasching, who didn’t provide a detailed breakdown. 

Sponsorship of marathon events can offer brands another means of reaching running enthusiasts. Hoka, for its part, focuses on ones closely related to its origins as a brand for hardcore running enthusiasts, such as the prestigious Western States Endurance Run and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc.

As marathons have grown, though, Canaves noted that more brands have allowed their marketing activity to spill over into the lead-in to the big event, rather than solely focusing on the big day. 

Hoka’s timing fits that frame. Its focus on the training period specifically, for example, gives Hoka a way of targeting first-timers, marathon tourists and personal record-chasers alike. “Running has changed what community means to people,” said Tsavdarides.