Jellyfish & HOKA Turn New York Running Into a Citywide Competition
Strava Challenge Makes Runners Part of the Creative With
Borough Results Appearing Across Digital Out-of-Home & Social
NEW YORK – Jellyfish, the integrated global digital marketing company within The Brandtech Group, today launched a new campaign for HOKA that turns New Yorkers’ everyday runs into a citywide expression of the running community.
Jellyfish developed the campaign concept and is leading both creative and media planning. The month-long challenge is hosted on running app Strava, building on HOKA’s existing global partnership with the platform. Throughout September, New Yorkers can log miles for their home borough as all five compete against one another.
As those miles add up, ticker-inspired creative will turn the competition into a public scoreboard on digital out-of-home screens in Times Square, Tribeca, SoHo and Williamsburg, cycling through weekly updates on miles logged, pace and other running stats. The work brings HOKA’s “Together We Fly Higher” brand platform to life by making runners and their activity part of the campaign itself.
Paid social will drive participation and extend the borough competition beyond the streets throughout September. The campaign also includes a creator program led by Collectively, the creator marketing company within The Brandtech Group. Six creators representing the five boroughs will encourage runners to join and document their own participation throughout the month. Those assets will be part of the paid social activation on TikTok and Meta, targeting running and fitness enthusiasts across New York City.
At HOKA, we believe running is a powerful fuel to creating connections. We all go further when we move together,” said Allie Tsavdarides, VP of North America Marketing at HOKA. “The HOKA Run Your City Challenge is about channeling that collective energy into something beyond only miles. It’s an invitation to all runners in New York to move with purpose and celebrate the unique spirit of many different communities across the city.”
“The creative idea is simple: make every run visible,” said Jo Wallace, Global Executive Creative Director, Jellyfish. “We’re taking something that usually lives on a runner’s phone and putting it out on the streets of New York and in social feeds. Suddenly, your miles are not just yours. They’re contributing to your borough, fueling a rivalry and becoming part of the city and community around you.”
“From the very start, we set out to create work that is a true celebration of NYC’s running culture,” said Michael Walsh Kirwan, VP Creative, Jellyfish. “We want New Yorkers to see these ads and get inspired to go for a run – with every mile logged reflected back in the ads themselves. Want to see the numbers change? Lace up and go for a run.”
The challenge culminates October 3 at McCarren Parkhouse in Brooklyn with a HOKA-branded daytime block party celebrating participants from across the city. The event will bring runners, creators and the broader community together for food, drinks and programming. Creative assets sharing highlights of the event will be featured in an October social media campaign that expands reach beyond New York to target runners and fitness enthusiasts around the country.
A publisher partnership with Highsnobiety will extend the campaign with a planned recap following the event.
Campaign creative and assets are available on request.
Credits –
Agency: Jellyfish
Global Executive Creative Director: Jo Wallace
VP Creative: Mike Kirwan
Media: Ang Dahir, Ale Duque
Production: Cailey Gribben
Client Leadership: Jackie Steinberg, Meredith Aird
Creator Marketing: Collectively
Platform Partner: Strava
About Jellyfish
Jellyfish is an award-winning, integrated global digital marketing company. Combining AI with human expertise the company seamlessly brings together media, creative and data. As a member of The Brandtech Group, Jellyfish helps brands navigate digital transformation, to move faster, smarter, and achieve stronger business outcomes – through advanced technology and generative AI. Jellyfish works with leading brands such as Google, Netflix, Amazon, Deckers (UGG, Hoka) and Uber.
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