Hoka Turns New York Into a Live Leaderboard With a Strava-Powered DOOH Campaign
Hoka's 'Run Your City' pits New York's five boroughs against each other to log the most Strava miles over September, piping real-time stats onto digital billboards — a clean example of turning wearable fitness data into the creative itself.
Static Screens Become Live Dashboards
The month-long September 2026 challenge spans Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. Digital out-of-home screens in Times Square, Tribeca, SoHo and Williamsburg show weekly, ticker-style updates of miles, pace and stats pulled from Strava.
Concept and media are led by agency Jellyfish (part of Brandtech Group), amplified through TikTok and Meta paid social, a six-creator program via Collectively and a Highsnobiety partnership, culminating in a block party on 3 October.
When the Data Is the Creative
Most DOOH is a static poster on a screen. Hoka's twist is to make live, competitive data the message — a leaderboard that updates as real runners log real miles. That turns passers-by into participants and gives the campaign a reason to be looked at again and again.
It also fuses three things brands usually keep separate: a fitness-tracking platform (Strava), physical out-of-home, and social amplification — each feeding the others in a single loop.
Why Hoka Needs This Fight
Deckers-owned Hoka exploded from a cult running brand into the mainstream, and now has to defend running credibility against On and Nike. Using performance data as the creative signals seriousness to the exact runners it can't afford to lose.
Borough-versus-borough rivalry adds tribal energy and a local hook in the world's most competitive media market — a reason for New Yorkers to care, share and show up.
Marketing Minute's Read
The most modern out-of-home doesn't just occupy a screen — it reacts. If you can wire a live data source into your media, you convert a broadcast into a participatory game, and passers-by into a community with a stake in the outcome.
Ask what real-time signal your brand can legitimately own — sales, streams, steps, scores — and make that the thing on the screen. Live beats static every time it can.
Quick FAQ
What is Hoka's 'Run Your City' campaign?
A month-long September 2026 challenge pitting New York's five boroughs against each other to log the most Strava miles, with real-time stats displayed on digital billboards in Times Square, Tribeca, SoHo and Williamsburg.
Who is behind the Hoka DOOH campaign?
Agency Jellyfish (part of Brandtech Group) leads concept and media, amplified via TikTok and Meta paid social, a six-creator program through Collectively and a Highsnobiety partnership, ending in a 3 October block party.
Why does using Strava data matter?
It makes live, competitive data the creative itself — turning static out-of-home screens into real-time leaderboards, converting passers-by into participants and fusing fitness data, DOOH and social into one loop.
The best out-of-home no longer just occupies a screen — it reacts. Wiring Strava's live data into billboards turns a broadcast into a game and turns passers-by into a community with a stake in the result. Ask what real-time signal your brand can legitimately own, and put that on the screen. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: modern out-of-home should react, not just display — wire a live data source into your media and you convert a broadcast into a participatory game people return to.
What live signal could your brand legitimately put on a billboard — and would people stop to watch it update?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Marketing Dive; OOH Today; Billboard Insider.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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