Saucony Shifts Strategy to Focus on Community and Connection

Back in October, Saucony’s chief marketing officer (CMO) Joy Allen-Altimare told ADWEEK she wanted to bridge the gap between performance and lifestyle. Now, five months on, the exec is spearheading a campaign that does just that: “Run as One.” 

The new initiative debuts with a fast-paced, 30-second campaign film highlighting running as a communal experience. It was shot in two of the brand’s key markets, New York City and Mexico City, and features Saucony athlete Vanessa Fraser and creative collaborator Jae Tips.

“We have a long history in running and running culture, and as we start to shift and pivot to this idea of running and lifestyle, we wanted a campaign that demonstrated that,” Allen-Altimare told ADWEEK. 

Saucony’s new strategy follows an 18% sales year-over-year sales decrease in 2024. The sneaker and sportswear market is becoming increasingly crowded, driven by less discretionary spending and newer running brands like On and Hoka carving their own lanes to snag market share from legacy brands like Nike.

Music-video-esque, “Run as One” was fully shot on film and intersperses quick-changing scenes of traditional runners with frames showing doing ordinary things, like a young man on a coffee run. The ad underscores running as a sport as well as a “cultural connector,” Gus Johnston, Saucony’s creative director told ADWEEK.

The brand turned to a film aesthetic and cityscapes to lean into the increasing use of analog and point-and-shoot cameras among millennials and Gen Z customers.

“From athleticism and competition to fundamentally, running is about living [and] how we move through the world together,” Johnston said.

“Run as One” was created by The Agency, the in-house creative shop owned by Saucony’s parent company Wolverine Worldwide.

The ad was produced by The Den, its in-house production company, along with director Cam Hicks of creative studio Happy Place and photographer Will Reid.

It will launch with a media mix featuring out-of-home (OOH) elements as well as connected TV, online video, and social and display channels.

Brand unity

Allen-Altimare, who joined Saucony in 2024, said her priority as CMO was to unify Saucony’s messaging.

For “Run as One,” the brand turned to external studies, spoke to local run clubs, and conducted internal research to gather insights on its target consumers. It found that there’s been an uptick in loneliness since the pandemic and that people are looking to connect with others over common interests, whether it be through music, travel, or sports.

Saucony developed “Run as One” to bridge those findings.

“Our consumers today are not just looking for run clubs, although we’ve seen a spike in that, we know that [they] are also looking for this idea of connection and community,” Allen-Altimare said. “Not just showing up and running and going back home, but showing up and connecting with people.” 

To further its push to foster community, Saucony will host a series of run club events around the world, both in-person and virtually, starting today (March 4). The brand will also partner with local coffee shops in cities like New York and Grand Rapids, Mich., later expanding to Boston, London, and other major cities worldwide.

The campaign also reflects the brand’s work culture.

Johnston said that the new mantra has unified Saucony internally, creating “synergy” across its global product, sales, and distribution teams.

“We have to live and breathe that ethos as much as we believe that the audience and our consumers [do] as well,” he said.

Allen-Altimare added: “Having a campaign that both internally unites us as a team around a central idea of how we want to show up as a brand to consumers is important, but also to reduce any confusion [to consumers] about what the brand stands for.”

“Run as One” will be ongoing. The CMO said she will look at metrics like brand health, event turnouts, and direct-to-consumer and retail channel sales to inform future iterations of the campaign.