The Challenge
Despite a four-year title sponsorship, brand resonance with Gen Z was low due to an over-reliance on onsite retail and bespoke creative. The challenge was to pivot from a short-term transactional focus to a long-term brand equity strategy—sacrificing immediate revenue to build deep emotional connections, "heroize" elite talent, and cement On as an aspirational partner in the young athlete’s journey.
The Solution
Shifted the activation model from a retail-heavy footprint to an experiential brand hub. Onboarded specialized creative and production partners to push our boundaries and maximize efficiency, ensuring the execution matched the premium nature of the brand.
Leveraged deep audience insights to design an athlete oasis. We invested in athlete engagement zones featuring recovery sessions, a customization station, and beauty bars (hair/nails/tooth gems). This strategy deprioritized prioritized brand affinity making athletes feel safe, celebrated, and confident.
Prioritized core brand and Dream On messaging to maximize consistency. To ensure impact beyond Philadelphia, built an integrated content strategy with partners (FloSports, Coffee Club Podcast, Sportarts) that captured the unique atmosphere and broadcast our experiences to a global digital audience.
The Results
Brand Heat
67.4M total partner reach
+100% in average reach per social post YoY
+28% in owned social impressions, 1.9M total
89% positive brand sentiment
2M reach on NBC Sports Philly
Qualitative Feedback
“Ariel’s efficient and organized leadership is one of the main reasons we are resigning On as presenting sponsor for the 2026-2028 term.”
“Cheers to Ariel for making this so clear and easy for those onsite. Roles and responsibilities were very clear. ”
Penn Relays 2025
Audience Engagement
125k event attendance
+42% in onsite product customization
5,800+ total onsite active engagements (beauty bar, recovery, try-ons, athlete signings)
$14.61 cost per event attendee (highly efficient for this scale)
“Ariel was great at mapping out next steps and highlighting deadlines. ”
“Very surprised by Ariel on her commitment pre and during the event and how she was checking on every small details during the whole 3 days. Personally It was very inspiring. ”
Commercial Impact
While onsite retail volume naturally decreased due to the strategic shift away from a retail format (-33% sales YoY), we generated $50k in projected future revenue via new SMS data capture and achieved a 51% retail sell-through rate on curated items.
“Ariel held down the fort like a champ—even after running the Boston Marathon! Her resilience and strength are inspiring. We’re so lucky to have someone as powerful, positive, and dependable as her on the team.”