Transforming RunGP from Concept to Global Team Running Championship.

RunGP approached Porter Wills with a revolutionary concept that existed only on paper: the world's first team based running championship on Formula One circuits. With no paid media allocation and an aggressive timeline to global launch, the challenge required transforming this vision into market ready reality.

Porter Wills was engaged as the strategic marketing lead to architect the brand positioning, develop the go to market strategy and orchestrate the partnership led global launch.

RunGP successfully launched as a credible new sport category with over £500k in earned media value and global recognition across the running sector.

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Strategic Positioning from Concept to Product

The breakthrough was positioning RunGP as strategic team sport entertainment that capitalised on Formula One's cultural dominance. Working with an award winning brand agency, we developed a comprehensive brand identity and web platform that brought the revolutionary team format to life.

This entertainment first approach gave RunGP permission to compete directly with established sports properties despite being a startup concept.

Measurable Results:

  • Successfully transformed a theoretical concept into a market ready global sport format recognised across the running industry

  • Positioned RunGP as a credible competitor to established running properties within 6 months of launch

  • Developed brand positioning that enabled the property to leverage Formula One's £2bn+ annual cultural reach

Orchestrating Global Launch Through Strategic Partnerships

With no paid media allocation, the launch strategy concentrated on building a comprehensive partnership ecosystem. The Web Summit reveal featuring Sir Mo Farah introduced the new sport category to global audiences through earned channels.

Strategic partnerships amplified reach: DAZN collaboration growth hacked their social channels, SWEAT wallet developed in app promotions while SNOONU integration put event details into Qatar's leading ultra app. A bespoke ticketing platform captured launch momentum into a customer database.

Measurable Results:

  • Generated over £500k in earned media value with zero paid media spend

  • Secured Sir Mo Farah as founding athlete, establishing immediate credibility for the new sport format

  • Built an integrated partnership ecosystem including DAZN, SWEAT wallet and SNOONU across multiple markets

  • Grew engaged audience through DAZN social channel collaborations and targeted digital activations

Our Approach:

The market entry strategy established RunGP as a credible alternative to traditional running while leveraging Formula One circuit access. This involved collaborating with local running clubs in Qatar to introduce the team format and generate grassroots participation.

The approach positioned RunGP as the sport that understood modern entertainment culture, offering strategic team gameplay on the circuits audiences watched every Sunday.

Measurable Results:

  • Successfully launched the world's first team based running championship with global media recognition

  • Built a foundation of 1,000 committed advocates through integrated digital and on ground activation

  • Established a new sport category that disrupted the traditional running paradigm

  • Created a replicable launch methodology for future market expansion

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Market Entry and Grassroots Activation

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