Firing The Starter Pistol For Clif Bar's EU Marathon

The TCS London Marathon is the ultimate endurance race of the British summer, bringing people together from all walks of life, challenging themselves to cross the finish line and take home a feeling of pride. To celebrate those personal achievements, Mondelez' sponsored the event through its energy snack Clif Bar.

Whether it's chasing close to a world record timing or achieving a personal best, the brand's ‘Final Finishers’ campaign wanted to celebrate the determination of participants to just keep going.

As part of its European push for Clif Bar, the marketing team didn't want to simply apply its global playbook, recognising that Europe is a very different, still‑developing landscape. To make the brand resonate, they needed to localise the global proposition and get much closer to European consumers where energy bars are still a developing category.

Working with Ogilvy, the brand is celebrating those who completed the race, even if they were some of the last to cross the line, recognising the determination and triumph it takes to make the finish line, regardless of time.

Ogilvy’s managing partner Dani O’Donnell says she realised that some of the most powerful stories of the journey to the finish line were actually found in the back of the pack and that it’s those people who are running for over eight hours that aligned with the ethos of of the brand. “We felt there was an opportunity to create a moment around that secondary finish line that really elevated the final finishes and also aligning really closely to this focus on endurance over speed, which is at the heart of the brand”

Finding the heart of endurance

Originally brief in January, the Ogilvy team had a tight turnaround time, with the race taking place in April.

O’Donnell explains that putting together a multi-disciplined team with specialisms in PR, social, and influence who genuinely resonate with the ethos of Clif was the first crucial step.

Despite the brand's global success, Bianca Harvey, EU marketing director at Clif Bar, adds that it is still a developing brand for a UK audience. This meant getting closer to local consumers while making the global proposition feel relevant.

O’Donnell adds that developing what’s at the heart of the brand was key, celebrating the journey, rather than the destination. “There's this amazing sort of truth of the product that it's designed to go where you go. The way that it's made means that you can just carry it with you, and it doesn't crumble and flake apart so it can really be with you on the journey”.

Supporting every step to the finish

Defining Clif Bar as ‘the peer of the path’, Harvey wanted the brand to make "a meaningful difference" for the participants. The aim was to demonstrate that the brand can be the ideal partner for endurance exercise.

This led the team to create a moment for the "endurance champions", who were diverted to the secondary finish line in St James’ Park, celebrating their dedication, as well as assembling a support crew that didn’t just turn up like the other sponsors of the event.

A dedicated squad of cheerleaders and pacers were formed, supporting the tailor walkers that the London Marathon collaborated with, and giving them a beacon to help them get to the finish line.

“We wanted to make sure that anyone who crossed the secondary finish line was as celebrated and as recognised as anyone who crossed at The Mall," explains Harvey.

Emphasising the time and preparation to bring to life the activation on the ground, Harvey highlights the team's dedicated approach to the initiative, from waving glow sticks until 1am in the morning to losing her own voice for three days afterwards. “That was quite a surreal moment when I realised that we're really playing in a space and activating in a space where no one else really is. It's the first time a brand has really stood up and said ‘I want to stand for this moment and support the final finishers’. When we're all there with our cliff beanies and windbreakers and rolling out lights and doing everything with WPP Team and Sport Five, it felt like we're really doing something amazing for the first time”.

She adds that playing a small role in helping someone have an incredible experience felt bigger than the brand.

A celebration of resilience

‘Final Finishers’ sets the tone for the new client/agency partnership, showing up with intent to make a difference and delivering an emotionally led message worthy of the iconic marathon.

The campaign includes Hannah, who — after a traumatic accident — took up running marathons to show that her disability wouldn't stop her from achieving her ambitions.

O’Donnell says that putting these participants at the centre of the brand messaging "meant the absolute world" to those involved with the campaign.

With over 330, 000 impressions and an overwhelming positivity sentiment, Harvey believes that the moments the campaign created will stay with her for a long time. “I had someone's family come up to me and say we were worried no one would be here, and this is just so amazing to see a community supporting a community till the very end.”

The beginning of a bigger journey

Harvey expresses how the chemistry between the brand and Ogilvy’s team was strong from the beginning. Creating a connection virtually at the start of the year saw the creations of a deep two-way trust, claims Harvey, which is important when working on a growth journey. “It takes a lot of trust, and that's what let us be bold and brave, and back some pretty big and new ideas, which was really fantastic in the relationship. Then when we all started coming together, it just got even stronger."

After working with Mondelez for a few years, O’Donnell shares how new and exciting the new relationship with CLIF has been, bringing a brand to life in a new and different way. The TCS London Marathon ‘Final Finishers' campaign is planned to be just the beginning of something much bigger, continuing with a second phases featuring the same ethos of being ‘the peer of the path’ and encouraging people to get out to the great outdoors.

Harvey says “It's been the perfect kind of marriage of incredible brand, incredible people, and talent, and then a great idea all coming together, which there's only so many of these moments. So, it's been a dream.”