within the female running community Nike wasn’t seen as a credible choice for serious runners in fact most female runners wore nike from head to ankle but found it hard to commit to wearing nike on their feet we also uncovered the truth that when women ran they ran alone they were left to overcome their fears and achieve their goals by themselves to us this seemed at odds with women’s natural inclination to discuss share and overcome barriers together in light of this our idea was simple as a female runner you’re fast stronger and more powerful when you’re part of a group then you could ever be as an individual there is true power in numbers we use this thought to ignite a community of female runners empowering them to redefine their sport and change the way they train forever we started our conversation through social media with a rally cry for change stimulating chat around the barriers women face who is during this conversation that we realized we needed to tackle the biggest barrier of all running alone at night we began by recruiting women who already had the courage to run in the dark we received hundreds of responses from women whose stories inspired an online short film and the more of us that run the brighter we can burn next we challenged our community by announcing that we would hold a 13k night race for female runners the film also acted as a registration device that could be personalized to every runner and passed on to their friends celebrating grassroots runners across gyms online in-store print and outdoor which in turn inspire other women to join the movement every piece of communication incorporated an invitation to a mini woman’s only run Club Hey I’m Daniela I’m grace I’m Veronica if you’re interested in night running then come for a run with us at Piermont allowing women to not only train for the 13k run but connect with other women along the way trying to unite female runners at every touchpoint enabling them a way to share their stories goals and achievements race night became a celebration for one night women turn the tables on the dark we smash down our own barriers to exceeding all expectations and KPIs for us this demonstrates the power of a culturally connected idea one that helps a community to form ships perceptions and ultimately changes how people interact with a brand we set out to shake up running for women and sparked a movement and unleashed a powerful thriving community a community that’s still running you