New Balance shines spotlight on Hub stars
B’s, Sox, Olympian featured in ‘This is Boston’
A new marketing campaign by New Balance launching today celebrates its roster of Boston-area athletes and the city’s unique sports accomplishments.
The “This Is Boston” campaign features Boston Bruins Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug, pro skateboarder PJ Ladd, 2016 Olympic runner Abbey D’Agostino, middle-distance runner Cory McGee, and Boston Red Sox Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt.
“Boston has an affinity for sports teams and sports culture, and what we really wanted to do was bring this to life in a campaign that’s fun and ... just celebrates sports in general,” said Chris Davis, New Balance’s vice president of global marketing.
The Hub-based athletic footwear and clothing brand’s spring campaign runs through April and will greet crowds at next month’s 121st running of the Boston Marathon.
“We’re showcasing our local athletes across baseball, hockey and running to really demonstrate the … spirit of competition that the marathon embodies,” Davis said. “We really wanted to embody the idea of the race being a cultural event.”
While New Balance has brought in outside agencies to create its campaigns in the past, it used its own creative and strategy teams for this campaign.
“You’ll see something much more unique and disruptive and really eyecatching,” Davis said.
The campaign will be featured in MBTA bus shelters and stations, on light pole banners, and along the marathon race route, including at Boston’s Prudential building and Lenox Hotel.
The athlete images include one of a determined-looking D’Agostino.
“Every April reminds me how grateful I am to be from a city so passionate about sports,” said the runner, who’s back to her normal training after an injury in last year’s Rio Olympics and hopes to start racing in late April or early May.
“It was so much fun being involved in a campaign meant to bring the people of Boston together, celebrating this awesome place we call home,” D’Agostino said.
A special “runner’s concierge” will pop up in the lobby of the Lenox, where athletes will be able to pick up items — including water, hair ties and body glide — and tips from local runners.
Starting April 14, NewBalance.com and the company’s social media handle, @newbalanceus, will release quotes from New Balance athletes and city icons saying what they love about Boston and encourage others to share the same using #ThisIsBoston.
The marketing campaign also includes Bostonthemed, limited-edition footwear and apparel, and the New Balance-sponsored “This Is Boston” Daybreaker event at Fenway Park. The April 14 event is part of a series in cities across the world. Participants will hit Fenway Park at 6 a.m. for a one-hour yoga and fitness session led by New Balance ambassadors Aly Raymer and Eliza Shirazi, followed by two hours of dancing.