The HOKA FlyLab, brought to life by independent creative agency Emotive, landed in Sydney to coincide with Global Running Day. The FlyLab is the brand’s centre for joyful performance.
Taking place in Sydney’s Pitt Street over five days last week, the FlyLab attracted thousands of visitors via an experiential brand activation, community events and health and fitness masterclasses.
“FlyLab offers a unique consumer experience that encapsulates the true heart of HOKA as a global innovator and a disrupter brand. And this approach applies to our marketing as well where so often real life experiences offer a more unique approach to connect with our community," HOKA head Australia & New Zealand Matthew Adams said.
"The result is more credibility and awareness in Australia for HOKA as a pinnacle running brand.”
Runners and movers of all kinds were welcomed to delve into HOKA's innovation and its origins, experiencing firsthand the latest offerings in the HOKA lineup.
The FlyLab also hosted a range of activities including free daily masterclasses and community events on a range of topics from health and nutrition to performance, tech and innovation.
The line-up included running culture and community leaders Chad Cohen, founder of Unofficial Run Club, Rory Warnock, breathwork specialist and ultra marathon runner, Melissa Fedele, clinical nutritionist and founder of The Good Day Wellness podcast, alongside HOKA athletes, Bel Fong (Coach for RUN with Turia Pitt), Matt Smith (Australian duathlon champion and recent second place finisher of the 2024 HOKA Runaway Sydney Half Marathon) and Craig Alexander (5x Triathlon World Champion).
Emotive head of brand experience Rebecca Gelao said running is experiencing a huge moment in Australia with interest surging for both seasoned marathon runners and new runners.
"And this activation really captured the Sydney running community’s imagination, with all masterclasses booked out and audience dwell times in excess of six minutes," she said.
"HOKA was seamlessly intertwined into the entertainment, with Emotive in collaboration with the HOKA marketing team delivering an integrated fame approach covering experiential, social, talent and content partnerships including Hype Beast and The Daily Aus.”
Key to the strategy was using the activation as a content creation hub to reach running enthusiasts right across the country. By partnering with seven influencers and media partners alongside a highly targeted PR campaign, the content reached more than 2.4M running enthusiasts nationally.
This is HOKA’s second activation in Australia with Emotive.
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