\n
For years, Clif Bars have featured instantly recognizable packaging showing rock climbers clinging precariously to overhangs. But the company has plenty of history with athletes who prefer to challenge themselves on solid ground.<\/p>\n
Founded in 1992, Clif Bar & Company has been involved in running since its inception, especially during its first 20 years, according to Brooke Donberg, director of partnerships and activation, and with interest in running on the rise, the brand is doubling down on the sport. The new approach is focused on driving both sales <\/em>and brand awareness, she said.<\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re in a moment where a brand can pull all sorts of levers around the running space,\u201d Donberg told Marketing Brew. \u201cI am more excited than ever to retarget and speak to that core audience that helped us build our brand, but then, because [running] is so relevant and cool these days, we\u2019re also able to reach younger consumers. From a consumer target standpoint, I think running is a really great sweet spot for us to move the needle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hard core<\/h2>\n
Core to Clif\u2019s current running strategy is a partnership with the Boston Athletic Association (BAA), which makes it the official energy bar of the Boston Marathon. The deal kicked off in March, about a month ahead of this year\u2019s marathon, and is set to last through 2027.<\/p>\n
Clif previously partnered with the BAA, but it took a pause during the pandemic, Donberg said; after her team tapped Excel Sports Management to help figure out its broader sports strategy, the agency recommended a return to running, Stephanie Arpaia, its VP of brand marketing, told us.<\/p>\n
While part of this year\u2019s partnership included handing out Clif bars to marathon finishers in recovery bags, it went beyond samples. Ahead of the race, Clif ran a campaign called \u201cRaise Your Bar,\u201d donated 10 race bibs to athletes who came within 10 seconds of qualifying, had a presence at the Boston Marathon Expo, and took over a bar near the finish line, Rosebar Boston, for the week leading up to the race.<\/p>\n
For that week, Rosebar became known as \u201cThe Clif Bar,\u201d where the brand hosted panel discussions, gave out samples, and generally provided \u201ca place for runners and spectators to fuel up,\u201d Donberg said. Now, she\u2019s thinking about how Clif Bar can play a role in runners\u2019 training journeys throughout the year.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe beauty of a partnership like Boston is they have year-round events, and so we\u2019re able to be always-on with them,\u201d Donberg said. \u201cIt really allows a brand to continue to build on their creativity and continue to show up in meaningful ways year over year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Off-course<\/h2>\n
During Clif\u2019s earlier days in the running space, the brand\u2019s approach focused on engaging with already loyal consumers and other athletes who might be interested in giving Clif bars a try, Donberg said. Her team\u2019s new philosophy with the sport, though, is to \u201cextend our reach\u201d beyond those at the top of their running game, she said. In addition to working with the BAA around the Boston Marathon, Clif also partnered with exercise tracking app Strava, which has become popular among runners and marketers alike.<\/p>\n
In the month leading up to the Boston Marathon, Clif created a Strava challenge offering a discount on products purchased from its website to participants who completed 129 minutes of activity, in honor of the race\u2019s 129th anniversary. The challenge allowed the brand to connect with athletes outside of the city and drive DTC sales, Donberg said, and Clif has run other activations on the app since.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe challenges that we\u2019ve run this year have been incredibly successful,\u201d she said. \u201cWe blew our KPIs out of the water, and so we really have seen running in particular as not just an awareness driver, but as a business driver as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a change from the brand\u2019s earlier sports marketing days; with \u201crunning becoming culturally cool and relevant in a way that it wasn\u2019t necessarily in the past,\u201d Donberg and her team are now able to use the sport to drive sales among more than elite runners, she said.<\/p>\n
Moving forward, Donberg said she\u2019s looking to expand into \u201cother activities that runners are participating in,\u201d like strength training and Hyrox fitness competitions, as well as upcoming global sports events like the World Cup and Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing that runners are enthusiasts around these sports and around these moments, how can we leverage these moments and show up in a meaningful way with runners to be a part of that broader cultural conversation?\u201d she said. \u201cWe want to reinforce the strategy that we\u2019ve established and find creative ways to plus it up.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For years, Clif Bars have featured instantly recognizable packaging showing rock climbers clinging precariously to overhangs. But the company has plenty of history with athletes who prefer to challenge themselves on solid ground. Founded in 1992, Clif Bar & Company has been involved in running since its inception, especially during its first 20 years, according […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22780,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-marketing"},"yoast_head":"\n
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