The Routeburn Classic

Medals are storytellers, and that matters.

When you think about a Medal, you probably don’t think of it as “content”.

But it is, it’s a physical piece of content.

With this in mind, alongside our knowledge that medals can be the perfect marketing asset, and our understanding of storytelling. We knew the next step was content that showcased a race, bringing to life the story that medals hold.

But there was one more factor we had up our sleeves.

Understanding the business. We work with races day in and day out, so we knew what was needed, and when it was needed.

With this accumulation of skills, we set off to create content for one of the most stunning trail races in the world, The Routeburn Classic.

For this project, we had one goal in mind: “ensure this race’s story is told fully.

The Routeburn Classic is a trail race that crosses over a mountain range in the lower South Island. Considering it is only 32 km long, it still brings a feeling of remote beauty that is hard to find.

We knew these factors would make it a marketing asset worth the big trip.

Tell the full story, details matter

Arriving the day before, we hit the ground running with registration, capturing people’s nervous energy as they took on the last checkpoint before toeing the start line.

What we captured was something unique, Context. People’s questions and stories flowed with a nervous air only pre-race moments can give.

You saw those who this was their first time doing something like this. Others, seasoned races.

Races sometimes miss these details, but they are key parts. What they show is something that people following the event are curious about. Supporters wanting to be involved, watching from afar or those trying to decide if they put this race on theircalendar next year.

But it also subtly shows something else, how organized your race is.

People want to be able to trust that your event is organized, and this is the perfect way to show that in a real, authentic way.

Race day

And then race day. It happens in the blink of an eye, for everyone involved and watching.

The Routeburn had it all, snow, storms, mountain vistas you’d want on a postcard, and stories overflowing with adventure.

Capturing all of this is a big undertaking, something we knew going in.

Which is why having a plan that can be adjusted on the fly was a key component.

Working closely with the Routeburn team, our day morphed around race logistics and weather.

The remote nature of this race meant being helicoptered along the course, and weather meant timeframes were adjusted.

Plans were made for the new problems at hand, and content scopes tweaked so the story could still be told,

As this happened, the day progressed, and so did the stories. At the finish line, we saw them conclude in smiles, hugs, and people trying to articulate the adventure they had just been on. All with two things in common, a shared experience and a medal hanging from their neck.