Saucony Shifts Strategy to Focus on Community and Connection

Again in October, Saucony’s chief advertising and marketing officer (CMO) Pleasure Allen-Altimare advised ADWEEK she wanted to bridge the gap between performance and lifestyle. Now, 5 months on, the exec is spearheading a marketing campaign that does simply that: “Run as One.” 

The brand new initiative debuts with a fast-paced, 30-second marketing campaign movie highlighting operating as a communal expertise. It was shot in two of the model’s key markets, New York Metropolis and Mexico Metropolis, and options Saucony athlete Vanessa Fraser and inventive collaborator Jae Suggestions.

“We now have an extended historical past in operating and operating tradition, and as we begin to shift and pivot to this concept of operating and way of life, we needed a marketing campaign that demonstrated that,” Allen-Altimare advised ADWEEK. 

Saucony’s new technique follows an 18% sales year-over-year sales decrease in 2024. The sneaker and sportswear market is turning into more and more crowded, pushed by much less discretionary spending and newer operating manufacturers like On and Hoka carving their very own lanes to snag market share from legacy brands like Nike.

Music-video-esque, “Run as One” was totally shot on movie and intersperses quick-changing scenes of conventional runners with frames displaying doing strange issues, like a younger man on a espresso run. The advert underscores operating as a sport in addition to a “cultural connector,” Gus Johnston, Saucony’s inventive director advised ADWEEK.

The model turned to a movie aesthetic and cityscapes to lean into the rising use of analog and point-and-shoot cameras amongst millennials and Gen Z prospects.

“From athleticism and competitors to essentially, operating is about residing [and] how we transfer by way of the world collectively,” Johnston mentioned.

“Run as One” was created by The Company, the in-house inventive store owned by Saucony’s guardian firm Wolverine Worldwide.

The advert was produced by The Den, its in-house manufacturing firm, together with director Cam Hicks of inventive studio Completely satisfied Place and photographer Will Reid.

It would launch with a media combine that includes out-of-home (OOH) components in addition to linked TV, on-line video, and social and show channels.