Thanks to Asics’ latest PR campaign, pub-goers in London were able to get themselves a pint with a difference.

With Dry January coming to an end, and with many not seeing it through, Asics wanted to inspire people to get their dopamine boost from running rather than alcohol. As a result, Asics’ Dry Run campaign in London saw customers given free shoes instead of a pint.

The idea of the campaign was to encourage people to get their mood boost from running rather than alcohol, and to give people a helping hand with keeping their New Year’s goals going.

And it went down a storm.

The news coverage hit every area that the brand would have hoped for, with national (Daily Star, Yahoo), local (MyLondon) and running (Runner’s World) publications all highlighting the event and motivation behind it.

So why did it work so well?

The first thing that Asics got right with this was the timeliness of the campaign, and how they were able to place their campaign where two major goals people have for January meet.

By doing research into how many people had failed to keep going with Dry January, they gave themselves a hook to their campaign.

Goals around health and fitness are popular at the start of every new year, but by generating a hook that combines two of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, Asics made their efforts stand out from some of the more one-dimensional efforts from sports brands in January, when everyone is motivated and every company wants to capitalise on this.

By planning the campaign for the end of the month, they also avoided a lot of this noise around health and fitness marketing at the start of the month, which also helped the story cut through.

Another brand which did a good job of creating a PR buzz around the overlap created by Dry January and New Year sports goals is Hendrick’s Gin, who rebranded as ‘Hendrick’s Gym’. The idea behind this campaign was that during the sober month of the year, customers could hone their cocktail-making skills as well as their fitness by taking part in exercises such as ‘weighted cocktail shaking’ and ‘high repetition garnishing’.

Another reason Asics got this so right is that the PR campaign comes from a genuine desire to help consumers. They know people are struggling with motivation at the end of a long month trying to hit their goals. This event shows that they identify with their customers’ issues and want to help them by making sure they have the best equipment for the job. And who hasn’t had a boost in motivation after getting new running shoes?

On top of the desire to help customers at a key point in the year, having a pop-up helps Asics to form a relationship with the people that turn up. That could be existing brand lovers who appreciate the free shoes, or new customers who are now trying shoes they potentially wouldn’t have used otherwise. There is strong brand loyalty in running shoes. Once people find what works they tend to stick with it. So if you can reach more people and get them to try your product, they could spend a lot of money on your brand in the future.

An event gives a sense of community as well as novelty, and a group of people now loyal to Asics.

One thing I would have liked to see is social media content from the brand itself. In person events and activations like this are great for fostering a sense of community. This is true even if it’s a local event that most followers aren’t geographically close to.

It sparks interest, shows the human side of the brand, and might encourage people to follow in the hopes of finding out about future events near them.

These events are great opportunities for producing less polished, more social media-native content that audiences crave, and that give brands personality on different platforms.

What can your brand learn from this campaign?

• Find where your brand can create a PR campaign where trends intersect, to give yourself a unique voice and multiple angles.
• Create campaigns that serve customers. This will increase brand loyalty and brand awareness, and improve your reputation.
• While they require organisation and aren’t as reactive as other PR campaigns, think about how your brand can incorporate in-person events into your marketing efforts.

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