On Running is a premium sportswear brand known for performance footwear and apparel. In a category where acquisition costs are high and competition is intense, the brand needed a performance marketing strategy that could drive growth without weakening its premium positioning.

Problem

On Running operates in a highly competitive category where customer acquisition is expensive and brand perception plays a major role in conversion. The challenge was to scale growth through performance marketing without pushing the brand into a discount-heavy or mass-market acquisition approach.

The brand needed to improve paid media efficiency while continuing to attract high-intent, premium customers.

Approach

The strategy focused on building a full-funnel performance marketing engine rather than treating paid media as a single acquisition lever.

At the top of the funnel, paid social was used to create demand through premium product storytelling and audience-specific messaging. In the middle and lower funnel, search and shopping campaigns were structured around high-intent keywords, hero products, and best-selling categories. Retargeting was then used to recover interested users and bring them back to purchase.

The approach was built around:

• audience segmentation by runners, fitness buyers, and lifestyle consumers
• product-led creatives tailored to different intent groups
• ongoing optimization based on conversion quality, not just clicks or traffic volume

Execution

Campaigns were aligned to different stages of the customer journey.

• Paid Social: built awareness and consideration through strong visual storytelling
• Search: captured users actively looking for premium running and sportswear products
• Shopping Campaigns: pushed hero SKUs and high-conversion product categories
• Retargeting: re-engaged product viewers, site visitors, and cart abandoners

Creative and messaging were adapted based on audience type, ensuring stronger relevance and better click quality.

Impact

The result was a more efficient and scalable performance marketing structure. On Running was able to improve traffic quality, align brand storytelling more closely with conversion intent, and create a stronger balance between premium positioning and measurable growth.

This case demonstrates that premium brands scale more effectively when performance marketing is driven by audience quality, creative relevance, and funnel-level optimization.

Key Takeaway

For a brand like On Running, performance marketing works best when it is built as a structured growth engine. Growth does not come from chasing cheaper traffic. It comes from attracting the right audience with the right message at the right stage of the funnel.