Merrell | Trail Sonified
Results
74
pieces of content
1.62m
total following
51k+
earned media value (EMV)
Brief
Since 1981, sportswear brand Merrell has championed the simple power of the outdoors. This summer, in its latest effort, the brand set its sights on the world’s largest trail running and music festival, Love Trails.
Held each year on South Wales’ wild Gower Peninsula, the festival is a playground for those who live to explore hard and play hard. Days are filled with ultramarathons, open water swimming and rock climbing, and live DJ sets stretch long into the night.
Briefed to make Merrell stand out in the lead-up and at the event, and introduce the brand’s newest trail running shoe, the MTL Adapt Matryx, we set out to craft a culturally literate campaign speaking fluent trail runner.
Idea
What if every run was music, but you just didn’t know how to hear it?
Trail Sonified was a first-of-its-kind festival experience rooted in music and powered by the trail. Through data sonification, we transformed runners’ Strava stats into a living soundtrack, using distance, elevation and duration to shape the music, and packaged it all with a distinct visual identity.
In the lead-up, we laced up – heading out on the trails with UK run clubs to gather Strava data and engage the community. Our lead activation host – a South London run club of DJs known as TEMPO – sat perfectly at the intersection of running and culture and helped engineer signature mixes to play in Wales.
At the festival, Merrell’s tent became an ambient recovery zone pulsing with trail-powered sound.
Festivalgoers were invited to test the MTL Adapt Matryx over a series of Merrell-hosted runs, kicking off with a balmy route to the beach before returning for a DJ set of sonified sound.
We followed this up with ‘Forage Frequencies’ – a mindful trail run inviting runners to be more present by pausing and foraging for flora along the way. Back at the tent, we extracted the sounds of the plants and the water content inside them live, curating ambient music directly from nature.
Amplification
With its culturally relevant concept, contemporary visual identity and immersive activation, Trail Sonified was primed for amplification across owned, earned and organic channels.
Shot through a social-first lens by a dedicated videographer and photographer, the story quickly found its way into the feeds of both runners and lifestyle followers.
Shared by run club partners including TEMPO and LHG, outdoor content creators like @outsideintel and @garryflume, and keen festivalgoers, it kicked off conversations across running and lifestyle communities.
The activation laid a solid foundation for future rollouts, showcasing the concept’s long-tail potential and adaptability across new terrains.
Services
Creative ideation and concept development
Branding and visual identity
Influencer marketing
Event planning and logistics
Experiential activation
Social content strategy and production
Talent and partner management
