Running is a competitive outlet for some, and spiritually cathartic for others. With globally iconic brands synonymous with both ends of this spectrum, Lululemon needed to earn their place. They turned to GFC to define their purpose in one of their biggest markets – New York City.
Through a partnership with the definitive online platform for runners – Strava – we built off the insight that a runner’s purpose often relates to the connection to people and places along the route. So we rewarded runners for running together – the re:pair challenge was born.
Using digital activity tracking, the more people that digitally tracked their runs with others, the more points they could earn. With this simple premise, we leveraged Strava’s open API to create a Progressive Web App that presented this connection in a contemporary design language.
Of the 7,200 people that joined the challenge, 71% recorded at least one activity. On average, our guests ran with 2-3 other people. And the challenge set record participation for Lululemon Strava challenges, beating their own global half marathon, Seawheeze. Through this incredible participation, people earned A LOT of points, and they needed a place to redeem them.
The SoHo based ‘house of run’ integrated offline and online runners, exchanging re:pair points for premium recovery experiences from Normatech, Keetz Snacks and others. From the re:pair lab, lululemon gifted custom run gear and hosted community events. There were over 3,300 unique recovery redemptions in the four weeks around the NYC Marathon.
While the official sponsors of the race were talking calorie count and pace times, Lululemon fostered a culture that celebrates the connections made along the way. Although not an official partner of the NYC Marathon, Lululemon became Runner’s World #1 destination to visit in NYC inspiring over 500 runners to get their last recovery session in at the re:pair lab the day before the marathon.
