Hoka has launched a month-long running challenge across New York City that converts participants’ Strava activity into live digital out-of-home creative, marking one of the clearest examples yet of a brand using first-party fitness data as its media asset.
The campaign, called “Run Your City,” pits the city’s five boroughs against one another through September. Runners in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island log miles through the Strava app, with each borough’s collective total counting toward a single leaderboard.
Those totals are not staying inside the app. Digital screens in Times Square, Tribeca, SoHo and Williamsburg carry ticker-inspired creative that refreshes weekly with miles logged, average pace and other participant stats, turning a static media buy into a running scoreboard.
The activation builds on Hoka’s existing global partnership with Strava and extends “Together We Fly Higher,” the brand platform it introduced last year to spotlight the coaches, clubs and community figures who support everyday runners.
Paid social on TikTok and Meta is carrying the challenge beyond the four screen locations. A creator programme run by Collectively, part of The Brandtech Group, has enlisted six creators to represent the boroughs, rally local runners and document their own mileage through the month.
Jellyfish, also a Brandtech Group company, developed the concept and is leading creative and media planning.
The challenge closes with a block party on 3 October at McCarren Parkhouse, bringing participants, creators and residents together in person. Footage from the event will anchor a social campaign in October, and fashion and culture publisher Highsnobiety will run a recap.
The community-first tone is consistent with Hoka’s positioning over several years, and lands at a moment when the running category has become unusually competitive. Rivals including On and Brooks Running have gained visibility while Nike works through a broader marketing reset.
Separately, Hoka announced a global campaign this week with TikTok creator and vintage retailer Emma Rogue promoting its Clifton UTL silhouette, with Rogue appearing at New York Fashion Week shows and after-parties in the shoes. The tie-up is aimed at younger buyers, including Gen Z consumers who increasingly shop secondhand.
The activity comes as parent company Deckers Brands, which also owns Ugg and Teva, posted more than $1 billion in revenue for the first quarter of its 2027 fiscal year, a first for the period. Hoka net sales rose close to 8% year on year, and the company has guided to high single-digit growth in the second half on the back of new retail partnerships, though some analysts have questioned whether demand will hold.
For marketers, the mechanic is the story. “Run Your City” ties an owned data source, a measurable participation event, a refreshable media placement and a physical finale into a single loop, and it does so without a hero film at the centre.
