The new campaign features many athletes that New Balance works with.
New Balance wants to be known for more than its sneakers, and it has tapped 17 athletes to help make that happen. The Boston-based brand has evolved into a full-blown athletics company, it says, one that innovates and manufactures products based on athletes' needs. And that's what its new campaign from Arnold in Boston highlights, using the tech-influenced tagline "Always in Beta."
The campaign debuts today online, in print and on social media. While centering a campaign around the idea that there's always room for improvement—especially with consumers' bodies—seems par for the course with an athletics brand. New Balance says "Always in Beta" is a more holistic look, encouraging and inspiring consumers to keep striving for more.
"As a brand, we are always pushing and always innovating," said Hilary Keates, director of global marketing and brand management at New Balance. "We represent that through [our work with] some amazing athletes and we want to help consumers push and meet their goals."
The first spot in the campaign, "The Storm," features 17 of the brand's sponsored pro athletes from a variety of sports and nations including Jenny Simpson, Emma Coburn, Miguel Cabrera, Robinson Cano, Milos Raonic, Aaron Ramsey and Vincent Kompany, among others.
According to Keates, much of the brand's work has been compiling data and figuring out how its products can help athletes—and consumers—meet their goals.
"New Balance wanted to do a reset on where they stand as a brand," said Pete Johnson, ecd and managing partner in Arnold's Boston office. "They've always been a brand that shunned partnerships and endorsements, but now that they are growing at the rate at which they are growing, they've looked [at how to] be a real player in the space and the category.