Leeds creative agency Syn delivered a series of brand activations for New Balance to mark London’s Big Half and New Balance’s Big Relay last weekend, coinciding with the launch of the brand’s latest performance running shoe, the SuperComp Rebel v1.
The Big Half and the Big Relay presented the perfect opportunity to launch the product and showcase the key, cutting edge features: The precision engineered propulsion plate, Infinion midsole foam and FANTOMFIT technology.
The Big Half celebrates the diversity of London, taking runners through four boroughs – Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich, while the Big Relay is a four-person team relay, held along the same course, featuring four legs of approximately 5kms each. The team format allows runners of all skill levels to enjoy the big race day vibe without needing to run a full half marathon.
Syn was briefed to create high-impact activations across the Big Half and Big Relay to engage runners, supporters and the wider London community, with a strong presence both on the course, and in a product-led festival area at the finish. The work was built around a community-first, product-driven approach, with SuperComp Rebel v1 as the hero, supporting New Balance’s positioning as a “premium athletic brand at the intersection of culture and sport” while driving new consumer acquisition in the process.
En route
On the course, three cheer zones were placed along the route, each featuring a cheer bodega, together with branded merchandise, product displays, cheer signs, floor graphics, a cheer platform and branded flags.
Supporters were able to collect branded cheer items and create personalised signs to write messages of encouragement for the runners. Completing a sign earned supporters a token to use on a branded gumball machine, unlocking a reward.
Roaming brand ambassadors captured content on the day using cameras, and supporters were able to take their printed photos and add them to the side of the cheer bodega, building a live, physical record of the runners community over the course of the event.
The festival zone
The course ended at a festival zone in Greenwich Park, where the SuperComp Rebel v1 took centre stage. A dedicated try-on space and treadmill gave runners the opportunity to experience the shoe first-hand.
The space also featured a refreshment station, mirror signing wall, bandana-making workshop and live DJ, creating a social environment for runners and supporters to spend time after completing the race.
Syn partnered with Runner Beans, a New Balance community partner and run club, who created original illustrations representing each of the four boroughs. These illustrations featured across stickers, flags and t-shirts and on stamps used in the customisable bandana workshop.
In retail
The race-day experience continued at New Balance’s Oxford Street flagship, where runners could have their relay batons and medals engraved. The personalisation transformed race-day memorabilia into keepsakes, extending the experience beyond the event itself and creating another opportunity for runners to engage with New Balance in-store.
Amarjit Kang, creative lead at Syn, said: “For us, the opportunity wasn’t simply to put New Balance branding along a race route. It was about creating reasons for people to actively participate and feel part of the community – whether that was making a sign for a runner, taking a photo, customising a bandana or spending time in the festival space. It’s been brilliant to partner with New Balance on bringing the activation to life, and the energy on race day showed what can happen when a brand creates an experience people genuinely want to be part of.”
