Garmin Winter Training Campaign

Today's record is tomorrow's motivation

Inspiring athletes at every level

To push themselves further with Garmin's innovative sports technology

The project

Garmin tasked us with creating a winter training campaign to sell their Forerunner 610 running watches and Edge 800 bike computers, so we created an emotionally intelligent campaign to engage athletes at every level. We produced an inspiring cinematic-scale film as the hero piece of the campaign, as well as an interactive rollout strategy including digital solutions, design services and campaign strategy and materials.

As a result, sales of the products went up 18% in EMEA territories, and over 40% of the 150,000 microsite visitors downloaded winter training plans. Additionally, the campaign inspired new messaging and strategies for Garmin used in other campaigns throughout the business.

Watch. Listen. Enjoy.

The Climb:
Professional cyclist Christophe Le Mével tackles the Austrian Alps

Influencing fitness

Inspiring action

The brief

Garmin’s best-in-class GPS fitness technology products were already popular with those who knew about them, but they wanted to improve awareness of their range, especially for their Edge bike computers and Forerunner running watches. This potential audience included both professional and amateur athletes – audiences that would normally require two very different marketing campaigns.

We were tasked with creating a solution that would speak to them all. Garmin’s goals were to increase awareness, sales and brand loyalty through the creation of an engaging creative and digital campaign, and they knew Make Studio was the right agency to deliver on that goal.

Edge 800

Make the most of every ride

At your fingertips

The Edge 800 is a GPS-enabled bike computer and is ideal for touring, commuting, competitive cycling and mountain biking. It has a built-in basecamp and tracks your distance, speed and ascent/ descent. The Virtual Partner® feature allows cyclists to compete against themselves. The Edge 800 can be paired with an ANT+® heart rate monitor, speed/cadence sensor or compatible power meter for a finely attuned analysis of every ride.

Intensive training

Intelligent solutions

The approach

Both professional and amateur athletes are motivated by pushing their limits and gaining the competitive edge. For this reason, our approach was to create a film that tapped into those primal desires and created a connection between the audience and the product. We also wanted to make the films aspirational, so we used relevant influencers in the form of professional athletes within the campaign. Customers could see the Garmin products in the context of these influencers’ successes and be inspired to start training with Garmin, which would be supported by online resources in addition to the tech itself.

In the moment emotion

Cinematic scale

The solution

Make Studio produced the entire Winter Training campaign from concept to completion. This included the film shoot with photography in tandem, a large release of marketing collateral, packaging, in-store POS experience, brochures, online marketing, print ads and paid partnerships with New Balance, Cervelo, Castelli and Camelbak.

For the hero piece of the campaign, we placed viewers inside the stories of elite athletes in two cinematic-scale narratives that highlight the key product features whilst inspiring the viewer. Tour de France cyclist Cristophe Le Mevel cycles through the Austrian Alps in The Climb. In The Training Diary, weight loss runner turned world record holder Steve Way runs through a wintry Bournemouth at different times of day. In both films, motion graphics were used to create ghost-like versions of the athletes – played by themselves – in order to highlight the Virtual Partner® feature and demonstrate the competitiveness of athletes at every level.

Infographic-style displays of the products’ other features were overlaid onto the video in order to demonstrate the technical sophistication of the Garmin range. Music provided by award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney and dramatic settings of the urban running route and the Swiss Alps created a dramatic, inspirational feel. The result was an emotional portrayal of the obsessive lengths elite sportspeople will go to in order to compete.

We also created a Winter Training microsite, where users could download training plans and share map routes and training summaries using the Garmin Connect™ service. This engagement allowed the inspiration of the film to maintain momentum and push viewers onto the Garmin site and toward sales while also adding long-term value from Garmin, their new training partner.

Forerunner 610

Leader of the pack

A touch faster

The Forerunner 610 sports watch enables runners to design and follow detailed training programmes to aid training routes. It gathers data on distance, pace, position, heart rate and calories during every run. The Virtual Partner® feature allows users to race against their own times, while the Firstbeat Training Effect means they can train more efficiently.

Watch. Listen. Enjoy.

The Running Diary:
World record holder Steve Way takes on Bournemouth's winter landscape

Living the dream

Beating the record

The results

The launch of the Garmin campaign was a massive success. The video was shared in places the ideal audience would see it, along with a call to action to visit the winter training microsite. There they could download the training plans, learn more about the products and interact more with Garmin as a brand. Within just three months of launch, over 600,000 people viewed the films, and 150,000 athletes visited the winter training microsite.

40% of those visitors downloaded winter training plans, and 3,000 new people subscribed to the Garmin newsletter. To date, over 1 million people have viewed the films. As a result of the campaign, sales of the Edge and Forerunner products went up 18% in EMEA territories in the quarter after the campaign launch. Furthermore, the campaign inspired messaging that is used across Garmin’s advertising today.

Services rendered
  • Advertising
  • Animation
  • Art direction
  • CGI
  • Content marketing
  • Digital experience design
  • Direct marketing
  • Email marketing
  • Film
  • Market & competitor research
  • Media & campaign planning
  • Motion graphics
  • Multichannel strategy
  • Packaging design
  • Photography
  • Post-production
  • Print design
  • Social media
  • User experience (UX)
  • User interface (UI)
  • Web development

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