Putting the right foot forward: The Running Channel rebrand
By Robyn Saunders, Creative Director, Share Creative
It’s no secret that running has grown in popularity over recent years. For many people during the pandemic, running was their one opportunity to venture outside, keep fit, and take care of their mental health. Sport England stats show that more people were running regularly during the pandemic than ever – with over 7 million people taking to their feet at least twice a month, second only to cycling. But while the pandemic may have been the catalyst, running has transformed from a means of keeping fit and clearing the mind into something much more meaningful: a supportive and empowering community. This is also a global trend: of runners who began their journey in 2020, 1.8x as many of them have set a new personal record this year, such as running a 5K or a half marathon, compared to 2022, according to data from Garmin, MapMyRun and Fitbit. For runners, this journey is incredibly personal and fulfilling on many levels; an essential principle to reflect for any brand looking to connect with this community.
At SHARE Creative, we were tasked with just that: to launch the rebrand of The Running Channel, a homegrown community for runners of all ages and abilities. Sharing inspirational and informative content across their YouTube channel and social, The Running Channel has become a go-to hub for anyone looking to be better, whether that’s turning their 5k or 20k into something more.
With a brand foundation established and half a million subscribers, SHARE partnered with The Running Channel to build a new brand strategy and visual identity to increase relevance with runners, grow the audience and attract new partner opportunities while truly celebrating their core brand ethos.
To stand out from the plethora of running apps and platforms already out there, we had to tread away from the beaten track. We noticed a key differentiator – other brands focused on having a winning mindset, while The Running Channel looked towards progress. This improvement mindset, however, didn’t just apply to the brand. It was, in fact, a real shared belief amongst all runners. We took this, shifting the brand purpose to ‘help runners keep improving’, supported by a brand proposition the whole community could resonate with: Run. Improve. Repeat.
We crafted a new brand identity that expressed these three words visually and tonally, creating something that would stand out not just on social but within the sports entertainment market itself.
To mark the first step in a new direction for The Running Channel, we created an iconic asterisk logo. Bold, geometric and distinct, the asterisk alludes to a forward perpetual motion and continuity, mirroring The Running Channel brand’s continued support for runners everywhere. To match this sense of progress with a bold symbol, we devised a bold colour palette, pairing a wide range of vivid complementary colours in an aesthetically pleasing way. Equally, each of the colours and logo combinations offer playful flexibility and range to many applications. Alongside the logo and colour palette, our team produced a number of dynamic patterns, each of which was built from the angles within the logo itself, to be animated for energetic visual compositions.
A dynamic, flexible and energetic visual style brought the proposition to life, with application across social, digital, apparel, website and OOH – reflecting the wider enthusiasm and passion of The Running Channel and its community. This distinctive design system allows for a limitless range of design output whilst maintaining consistency throughout.
The brand launched successfully at the 2023 London Marathon, with a Mile27 pop-up on the Strand to welcome runners. With the new look and feel well received online and offline, The Running Channel’s brand now lends itself to the long-term commitment they have to their community. This longevity has the potential to affect not just key metrics such as subscribers, engagement, growth and revenue, but also cement their position as the go-to brand for motivational and educational content to help runners run, improve and repeat.
