Client:
New Balance

Specialisms:
UX/UI, Art direction, Design leadership

New Balance Runlock Digital Campaign

A recent collaboration with New Balance, driven by a concept from our in-house creative team, redefines the running landscape. A brainchild of innovation,
this project centers around a partnership with Strava, urging users to clock distances and earn exclusive New Balance gear. The pinnacle of the experience? A climactic race serving as the backdrop for an exclusive sneaker launch, with runners unlocking the new kicks from a specially designed
digital-to-physical locker.

In my role as the Head of Product Design for this collaboration with New Balance, I played a pivotal role in steering the project from ideation to execution. Leading the creative team, my responsibilities encompassed shaping the overall product strategy, ensuring a seamless integration of technology, design, and user experience.

Background

The Runlock concept, devised by our in-house creative team, stemmed from the prevalent trend of sneaker enthusiasts purchasing coveted releases only to find them resold at exorbitant prices on secondary platforms. Originally conceived as a location-based challenge, Runlock proposed that runners receive alerts guiding them to specific locations. At these points, lockers awaited, containing their newly acquired sneakers. The twist was that participants had to leave their old pair behind, ensuring the new runners became their journey home and curbing resale opportunities. As the idea evolved, Strava was seamlessly integrated, transforming the initiative into a distance-based challenge with unlockable prizes. The pinnacle of the project materialized in an exclusive, invite-only race, where top-performing runners raced to unlock a limited edition sneaker drop, adding an extra layer of excitement and exclusivity to the innovative concept.

Concepting

The original idea underwent significant development during collaborative workshops involving the client and the technical team. Various possibilities were explored, including the creation of a customised microsite that replicated physical lockers, the incorporation of technology to monitor runners and display live races on digital screens, and the utilization of tech for unlocking lockers. Eventually, the project focus was narrowed down to a distance-based challenge for its first iteration.

User flows and project outline

We planned the user journeys with some basic flows to ensure that all stakeholders could comprehend the complex paths that revolved around an initial teaser launch. This aimed to generate excitement and collect user emails and data. Subsequently, we transitioned to the full campaign, enabling users to navigate to Strava and participate in challenges.

Communication with users was strategically timed through emails before the launch. Additionally, we utilised large customised modules on the NB homepage to direct traffic to the Runlock challenge microsite.

Wireframes + protoyping

We developed simple lo-fidelity wireframes to build out our flows. Basic prototypes were then crafted to enable stakeholders to navigate through the journey, providing an avenue for feedback on potential issues or pain points. Utilising the fundamental UI patterns from the New Balance design system, we created the designs before advancing to high fidelity.

Hi-Fidelity

Art direction & Brand guidelines

We crafted the final product in alignment with the guidelines provided by New Balance, infusing the project with its distinctive personality through the use of headlines, art direction, imagery, and video. We collaborated with Strava to understand their guidelines to create a seamless journey across platforms.

Project challenges and constraints

Technical Integration with Strava:

Ensuring seamless integration with Strava, including real-time data synchronization and accurate distance tracking, presented technical challenges that required robust API connections and troubleshooting.

User Interface and Experience:

Designing an intuitive and engaging user interface for the Runlock concept on both web and mobile platforms was crucial to encourage user adoption and active participation.

Brand alignment

Working with the New Balance team to align with brand guidelines and principals.

User Engagement Strategies:

Developing and implementing effective digital strategies to sustain user engagement using incentives to keep participants actively involved in the challenge.

Multichannel Consistency:

Maintaining consistency in messaging, branding, and user experience across different digital touch points, such as the desktop app, emails, and Strava, posed a challenge in delivering a unified and coherent narrative to participants.