As an athletic company with deep roots and running expertise, New Balance has always made running shoes built to the highest technical standards. But when we were tasked with a global campaign for the launch of the new running shoe, the Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit, we knew that would not be enough. The campaign targeted female runners, who do not choose their shoes based on pure technical attributes but on what makes them feel empowered to run harder. The problem was that these runners did not see New Balance as a brand that imparts that kind of feeling.

Our goal was not just to create awareness around the shoe — we also had to prove to our audience that with it, they can conjure the confidence and power they need to run their best.

To launch the Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit, we created a campaign centered around an anthem and music video that vividly brought to life the empowered feeling women are looking to channel in their runs. We launched our song, “Start a Riot” by the female-led punk band BEGINNERS and featured four of New Balance’s elite female runners (running in the Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit) in the music video to create a visceral energy around the shoes.

Because our audience did not know New Balance as a brand that carries the energy women need to fuel their runs, we looked for mediums and partners to show it. During runs, female runners rely heavily on upbeat music to fuel their motivation and push them farther. So we looked for partners who could help us literally give our audience the energy they were seeking. With an anthemic and confidence-boosting track, we would have the perfect backdrop to show New Balance’s strong female athletes in action, allowing our music video to demonstrate the kind of running the Fresh Foam Zante Pursuit and New Balance inspire.

To create our anthem and music video, we identified BEGINNERS, a female-led punk band perfectly aligned to the spirt of the campaign and brought them together with New Balance athletes who embodied this same drive.

To kick off the campaign in January 2019, we launched our video and track “Start a Riot” on a global scale in New Balance flagship stores, on major music platforms and on social platforms.

The video premiered during the national broadcast of the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix on NBC Sports and during the NYRR Millrose Games, two of the most prestigious running events of the year. The broader campaign drove awareness and demonstrated New Balance’s motivational mission through content about the band and runners. As people engaged, they were driven to a landing page where they could buy the shoes and feel that energy for themselves.

The music video generated over 65 million impressions on athletic, cultural and music outlets. Coverage ranged from Bustle to Rolling Stone, placing both the band and the brand on stages where they had never before appeared and positioning New Balance in a new light.

This collaboration marks a rare occasion where unsigned artists get on-camera opportunities in campaigns. The band was given the opportunity to speak on a panel at SXSW about the unique partnership they had with New Balance in creating the music video, and Sam Barbera, BEGINNERS lead singer/guitarist, was quoted as saying, “For us it was a really positive experience. It was clear we could have creative input. It was a priority that it felt authentic to us, to our brand, and who we are.”