New Balance is looking to democratize running with its latest campaign, and it is enlisting key retail partners and a big ad spend to help the cause.

“Run Your Way” celebrates casual, dedicated and professional runners, a move to be more inclusive, with assets featuring range of people from amateur average runners to Olympians.

The new campaign is a subset of New Balance’s overarching “We Got Now” mantra as the company eyes expansion, says Dave Korell, manager of merchandising and sports marketing at New Balance Canada.

He says the brand has a lot of history in the running category, consistently being first or second in market share in Canadian specialty channels, which he says is unique in the global marketplace.

Korell tells strategy for “Run Your Way,” it’s leading with key account partners like SportChek and Running Room. According to Korell, 80% of its business is wholesale in Canada. Therefore, it “really relies on national chains to tell the story,” he says, as it looks to defend its market share from the likes of relatively new running-related shoe brands like Hoka and On.

Still photography is going to be featured in stores, with video coming soon. A more standard top-of-line ad campaign is coming later this fall, and in 2024, New Balance is doing an expanded media buy to coincide with the next Olympic Games, a key moment for the brand.

New Balance first teased the global “Run Your Way” campaign at November’s New York City Marathon, a key partnership for the Boston-based company, given it is one of the marquee events attracting runners. The global campaign represents the biggest ad spend the company has ever put behind running shoes.

In addition to local retail partnerships and executions, the Canadian leg of the campaign also includes sponsoring the Shoppers Drug Mart Run for Women, as it attracts a more balanced consumer set and New Balance continues to steer away from its perception as a “dad brand.” Korell says that change has also been driven by associations with the likes of former Toronto Raptor Kawhi Leonard, as well as newer athlete sponsorships like soccer player Raheem Sterling.

New Balance does, however, have to strike a balance between its association with athletes and streetwear fans, as Korell explains that the brand’s “performance technical shoe is now emigrating into streetwear.” And it’s not purely about its heritage suede mesh Classics anymore, but other products too. For example, New Balance is also looking to drive more demand in apparel, which the company wants to grow to 20% of its business from the current 12%.

Media Hub is leading planning and buying. Creative was done internally, with Apex providing PR support.