Perfect brand fit and storytelling deluxe

Brooks, Finland and t-online invite you to the Ruskamarathon

The Brooks brand is targeting ambitious runners and professionals with its running shoes. When selecting advertising media, the shoe manufacturer attaches great importance to high-quality staging.

The Ghost 16 and Glycerin Max models were to be integrated into a high-quality travel environment and presented in various European destinations. Together with the Weltmeyster agency, Finland, the Levi region, Visit Finland and Finnair were secured as partners. The only thing missing was the right media partner. The choice fell on Ströer with t-online, as the news portal scored with a high net reach and a secure brand environment. The right publisher product was also quickly found: Native Story Advanced. Sponsored articles marked with the word “Advertisement” can be placed in the editorial environment. 

The booked and editorially prepared articles then mainly revolved around a competition initiated by Brooks and the country of Finland: three lucky people were able to travel via Helsinki to the province of Levi in Lapland for a few days in late summer to enjoy nature and take part in the famous “Ruskamarathon”.

In order to strike a balance between the advertised competition, the travel destination Finland and the new Ghost 16 running shoe, Brooks decided to run three Native Story Advanced advertising flights on t-online (period July to October 2024): First, the competition was to be teased, followed by a “foretaste” of the trip, then a follow-up report at the end with statements from the winners. 

The content is presented in an inviting way with photos and videos. This is proven by the high click-through rate (CTR) to the customer landing page and the above-average length of stay (for all three stories).

The images and videos used were produced especially for the Brooks-Finland cooperation. Some well-known running influencers with whom Brooks works as part of the Brooks Running Collective were also invited on the teaser trip.

The competition was very popular thanks to the Native Story Advanced and an announcement video on YouTube. The impressions of the winners were recorded by the t-online editorial team for the third flight. Video material was also produced for the winners' trip and marathon, on which the amateur runners were once again accompanied by the running influencers, and can be found in long form on YouTube. 

The follow-up reporting on t-online even surpassed the performance figures of the previous flights: The participants' personal impressions in particular ensured excellent retention rates. 

“Brooks was able to realize an extraordinary brand staging through the cooperation with Ströer and the country of Finland. The running context, the extraordinary nature shots and the embedding in high-quality, interactively designed content contributed to the brand values,” summarizes Anna-Lena Fliedner, Key Account Manager, Ströer Content Group Sales GmbH. 

“We were delighted with the implementation and performance of our Native Story Advanced. Across all three campaigns, the content creation exceeded our expectations with its strong storytelling. The narrative came to life and inspired our readers to take action themselves,” adds Lara Hasagic, Brooks Marketing Manager Central Europe.