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Ken Seals's avatar

Great post. I’m curious if you’ve noticed any patterns across categories or brands size/stage in terms of their marketing approach with athletes.

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Jeff Garmire's avatar

Definitely! I think some of the marketing new brands do can be really different, fun, and authentic. It gets harder to stay nimble like that as brands grow. This would be another fun post to explore!

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Brett Valentine's avatar

Great article. I like your points.

As a spectator of the sport, who watches live streams and follows on social media and Strava, I want to hear a personal story. A detailed account of a race. The blow by blow...The details of what happened at that aid station when you puked and rallied. What it was like to microdose on a long run.

Some athletes don't tell any personal stories and are not very personal or personable (ahem...Jim). And others are SOOOO out there with every detail (cough...David).

The ideal spot is between these 2 extremes.

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Thruhikers's avatar

Wonderful post! We see the whole spectrum -- some brands get it, some just want a one-time scripted piece. And it's not just about caring for the athletes -- the one-off talking point pieces rarely land with an audience: it's a bad marketing move!

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