Same is Boring – Get FKT

Merrell’s Same Is Boring – Get FKT campaign legitimized Merrell in trail run, drove category growth, and broke earned media impression records.

The Merrell Test Lab (MTL): Elite products made for professional athletes designed to adapt to whatever nature throws their way. MTL is our pinnacle performance category, designed to drive leadership in product innovation. The Get FKT campaign legitimized Merrell’s right to race among the best brands of the category.

Merrell’s Get FKT integrated plan was a digital-first approach with three key jobs to accomplish:

1. Shake up the Run Category – The mission of Same Is Boring continued as we suspected consumers were also feeling weary about the sea of sameness in the run category. We chose to disrupt the way runners think about their competitive spirit on the trail by focusing on FKTs. This showed up primarily through our media partnerships and digital plans.

2. Connect with Athletes and the Community – We seeded 100 influential runners around the globe with MTL Skyfire 2 shoes and asked them to join our cause of setting FKTs. Then, we reached out to key influential running writers, bloggers, and publications to help share our goal and showcase our newest shoe. Lastly, we invited key media partners to our Get FKT competition in Colorado where six runners competed to set a brand new FKT and ultimately win professional Merrell athlete contracts for 2024.

3. Showcase New Product Innovation – We accomplished this goal through CTV, OLV, short form video & display ads, social media, PR, award/best of list outreach, and custom partnership with Outside and Runner’s World.