Hit the Ground Running
By Max Veenhuyzen
What do cockroaches, missing balls and vomit have to do with endurance sport?
In the immortal paraphrased words of rapper Ice Cube: life’s not a track meet. It’s a triathlon. And with proper preparation and planning, it’s possible for brands to put themselves in strong, winning positions.
LANCE ARMSTRONG HAS just one testicle. What’s your excuse?
As far as sentences that grab your attention go, this one’s right up there (or perhaps down there, as the case might be). Heads certainly turned in 2002 when a print advertisement bringing up the American cyclist’s genitalia hit the street press of Virginia, capital of the U.S. state of Richmond. Accompanying the ad’s nine-word headline was a black-and-white photo of a male cyclist: eyes clenched, sweat dripping off the chin, face twisted into a mask of pain. Welcome, said the image, to the world of triathlons. Welcome, said the image, to 3Sports, a new, fresh-out-of-the-box specialist triathlon store opened by triathletes, for triathletes.
ABOVE: 3Sports launch print campaign, 2002.
Photography by Alan Myles.
“We knew our customers,” says Jennifer Johnson: a then bright-eyed 20-something that, together with husband Ben, decided it was about time Richmond had a dedicated triathlon retailer. “And we knew that if we wanted to grab their attention, we needed bold, in-your-face messaging that was sometimes a bit ‘off’.”
That ‘off’ thinking would be a recurring theme for all of 3Sports’ marketing material. There was, for instance, the ad that depicted a female runner on her knees, one hand clasping her mouth, the other braced against the kerb. The runner’s body language suggests that the liquid pooled by her knees was, until recently, inside her stomach. The headline—“In a triathlon: victory and defeat often taste the same”—confirms your hunch.
Another ad drew parallels between shopping for endurance gear and downloading porn: “You wind up abusing yourself” (oh 2005, what a time). The cockroach—the ultimate, nuclear-bomb-proof endurance athlete—that starred in the 3Sports logo also featured in banners, stickers, and cycling uniforms.
To casual observers, creative work like this might have come across like advertising’s equivalent of shock-jock radio and look-at-me-ism. But to those who got their kicks by running, cycling and swimming gruelling distances week-in and week-out, the message was clear: 3Sports understood that triathletes are, as the young kids like to say, built different.
ABOVE: Original 3Sports logo, 2002.
“Their whole attitude was that you had to be insane to do triathlons,” says art director Mark Braddock. Together with Tanya Sim, Mark founded Block around the same time that 3Sports was preparing to go to market and working on the store’s launch was one of Block’s first gigs.
“Endurance sports make no sense. That was the insider’s view, so that became our take too. And the triathletes went, ‘shit yeah, that’s me, that’s what it’s about.’ It wasn’t the sanitised Nike version of it.”
Triathletes, unsurprisingly, loved the ads, and the campaign’s success announced the arrival of Block as well as 3Sports. Campaign Brief highlighted the gritty, unvarnished quality of Block’s work. (“The talent are either really good actors or Block and [Perth photography studio] F22 broke them,” wrote art director Drew Ridley in the magazine’s Creative Circle column.) Mark designed a cover for Australian design bible Desktop after the magazine reached out wanting to profile the agency. More clients began asking after the new kids called Block. Not bad for a two-person show working out of Mark’s parents’ pool room in City Beach.
Like the Johnsons, team Braddock-Sim felt that their industry also needed something new: namely, a full-service agency that offered clients holistic marketing and branding solutions rather than piecemeal approaches that, often, led to clunky solutions that never quite got to the root of a problem.
“A logo is just a thing. We’re not trying to push buttons or anything. We’re just trying to tell the truth and have an opinion and not be afraid of saying what that opinion is. It’s about understanding what the problem is, coming to a solution that’s unique, and taking a position that isn’t bland.”
One of the keys to understanding a problem is understanding a business. For Mark and Tanya, that meant immersing themselves in the world of triathlons and having probing discussions with the Johnsons to help determine and fine-tune 3Sports’ identity. (Tanya: “We really like getting in as early as possible and having these rich conversations with clients. We want to know, who’s your market? Where are you heading? What are the objectives of the business?”).
In the process of developing 3Sports’ identity, Block raided newsstands and read triathlon magazines from cover-to-cover. The media habits of customers were carefully considered. Competitors were dissected and analysed: what are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? What do they do and not do from a marketing perspective? Just like school, doing your homework pays off.
ABOVE: 3Sports magazine campaign, 2005.
Photography by Craig Kinder.
“When they presented the logo with the cockroach in it, we knew they understood us,” says Jennifer. “Who else would so confidently approach one of their first clients and say, ‘you know what? Your logo needs a roach in it.’ They were spot on.”
While some might have written off Block’s work for 3Sports as a new agency simply throwing a proverbial cat among the pigeons or gunning for awards glory, Mark insists that the creative was backed by surefooted theory and strategy.
“Shocking just for the sake of shocking isn’t useful for anybody,” he says. “It’s about going, how do we approach this differently? How do we talk to people? How do we make something that will get noticed and stand out for the right reasons? How do we create a difference and create a buzz? The idea leads us, rather than us leading the idea.”
Tanya agrees. Clever ideas that capture the attention of potential customers is one thing. Delivering consistently on the promises made by these clever ideas is another.
“It doesn’t work when a business pretends to be something it’s not,” she says. “You obviously want to present something in its best light, but it’s got to be in an honest, transparent and direct way.”
Following the initial launch campaign, Block worked with 3Sports for another five years. In that time, 3Sports opened two more stores and continued building its profile courtesy of some strong creative concepts, fun merchandising (socks with squashed cockroaches!) and targeted event sponsorship. The benefit of such a targeted, consistent branding approach wasn’t just limited to America either. While waiting for a flight at remote Saipan International Airport in the Pacific Ocean, Jennifer noticed a group of athletes walking past her, all of their bicycle bags sporting 3Sports stickers.
ABOVE: 3Sports ‘Last Will and Testament’ swag bag insert discount flyer.
[+] Click image to Enlarge
In short, 3Sports joining forces with Block was a win-win for all. Richmond’s newest triathlon sporting store hit the ground running; and Mark and Tanya had some impressive work for their folio as well as proof that building a clear and consistent brand identity was a worthwhile investment for any business. (Block’s work for Swedish film studio FilmTecknarna, another of the agency’s first clients, suggested that its success with 3Sports was no fluke).
“Both of those clients wanted to push things,” says Mark, “They both allowed us to do something interesting and creative and end up with two identities that were strongly ideas-driven rather than style-driven. That really set the tone for what we wanted to do.”
“The work we did for each of them couldn’t have been for any other business,” adds Tanya. “I think that’s why it was so successful. If you have a house style, how could you possibly be right for every client?”
Footnotes on Block
Block recognises the contribution of writer and Block collaborator
Michael Mullen in the creation of the 3Sports brand.
