Bella Harrison and Ed Parkin from Tracksuit join That’s What I Call Marketing to discuss Grindr’s push into real-world experiences, On’s entry into football and Walkers’ growing brand preference, exploring what each story tells marketers about building brands and measuring progress.
Three brands, three different challenges: giving people more reasons to use an app, taking a specialist sports brand to a wider audience, and keeping an established favourite relevant. Conor Byrne, Bella and Ed examine the strategies alongside Tracksuit’s brand health data, discussing what is moving, what remains uncertain and which measures matter.
In this episode, we cover:
– Grindr’s “Global Gayborhood” ambition: how a surprise Madonna performance, events and broader services support its move beyond a hook-up app, and why its younger audience deserves closer attention.
– On’s move into football with Kylian Mbappé and Thierry Henry: building on its running and tennis credentials, competing with Nike and adidas, and the questions facing a premium brand entering the boot market.
– The difference between recognising a brand and thinking of it first, and how expanding into another sport could give On more opportunities to come to mind.
– Walkers’ brand refresh, new flavours and football partnerships with Lionel Messi, David Beckham and Thierry Henry, alongside a rise in preference from 29% to 36%.
– Why flat awareness or usage figures do not tell the whole story, and how audience differences, category context and preference can help marketers make a stronger case for their work.
– “What the Actual?”: the discussion around Sydney Sweeney’s Novig campaign, PNC Bank using the Titanic in its advertising, and why the Laughing Cow has stopped laughing.
A useful listen for marketers interested in brand strategy, customer insight, experiential marketing, sports marketing, brand building, marketing effectiveness and commercial impact.
That’s What I Call Marketing is the podcast for marketers who care about brand, B2B, creativity, effectiveness and the future of the profession.
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Find more episodes at: https://www.thatswhaticallmarketing.com
THE SINGLES — IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TRACKSUIT
The Singles is our monthly look at the marketing stories getting people talking, using Tracksuit’s brand tracking data to bring evidence and context to the conversation.
A huge thanks to Tracksuit for supporting the series, and to Bella Harrison and Ed Parkin for helping us understand the brand performance behind the headlines.
Explore Tracksuit’s always-on, affordable brand tracking platform: https://www.gotracksuit.com
TIMESTAMPS
01:50 Grindr: real-world events and the “Global Gayborhood”
02:58 Madonna, community and experiences people share
04:08 What the brand data shows for Grindr
05:33 Reaching younger audiences in a changing dating category
06:41 Putting audience and category data into context
07:37 Giving people reasons to use Grindr beyond dating
09:14 On enters football with Kylian Mbappé
10:08 Building on running and tennis
10:53 Premium positioning and the realities of buying football boots
13:06 On’s brand growth and the opportunity to come to mind more often
14:36 Thierry Henry joins On as Director of Football
15:16 Thierry Henry and Ireland’s long football memory
16:10 Walkers: refreshing an iconic brand
17:45 Why Walkers’ seven-point preference gain matters
19:46 Competing across the wider snacking category
21:25 Familiarity, trust and choosing a brand
22:05 Using brand metrics in budget conversations
23:27 What the Actual? Sydney Sweeney and Novig
25:10 PNC Bank’s Titanic advertising
26:08 The Laughing Cow stops laughing: one to watch
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