HOKA show that running is a team sport

In South Africa, we build a nation around ultra marathon running (Comrades and Two Oceans) and it is perhaps this spirit that HOKA are tapping into with their new TVC called Together: We Fly Higher.

What's clearly being demonstrated here is that great athletic performance comes from a team / family / partner effort - who often pull of the remarkable, behind-the-scenes, in dedicated support of their runner in the arena.

Together with Bob Dylan's 1975 track, Shelter from the Storm, the HOKA brand is positioning itself as 'authentic running gear for serious runners' who understand that running is not always glamorous, not always pretty to watch, but the beauty lies in the bare guts and grunt it takes to dig deep enough into your soul to complete the mission that you have set out for yourself.

Real runners meet themselves on the road (in our experience, that's usually between the 12 - 16km mark in a fast half).

We like how real these visuals feel, the repetitive inclusion of the product in the sequences, the selection of music (that must have commended the majority of the production budget) and the unique narrative angle.

Sport is emotional, and great sports brands know that their communication succeeds when they get you to feel a little something while watching their ads.

On that simple metric, HOKA has got a hit here. But the challenge now will be to turn this great singular campaign into an ongoing, sustained blanketing of the brand into the subconscious of all active athlete and potentially active athletes (...at some point in the future).

Outdoor brands that outperform do so because they are led- and designed to be more than product suppliers.

The market leaders invest heavily in the intangible elements of their overall brand suite. The rewards are marketshare, increasing sales volumes in multiple geographies and generous margins.

Related:

Also something new from Salomon that weirdly follows along a similar theme.