Melbourne Ran. Nike Led.
IMG's Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival
THE CHALLENGE
Melbourne is known as the sporting capital of Australia. A city that stops for the AFL Grand Final, breaks records for the Australian Open, dresses up for the Melbourne Cup, and roars for the Grand Prix. These events dominate the front pages, and the cultural conversation.
But the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival? That was different. It was loved by runners, respected by the athletic community, but rarely talked about by anyone else. For decades, the marathon lived quietly in the background. Something you ran, not something the city rallied around.
So our ambition for 2025 was bold and simple:
What if we could turn Melbourne from the sporting capital of Australia into the supporting capital of Australia?
What if instead of 40,000 runners… we created six million supporters?
What if the marathon didn’t just belong to the athletes participating, but to the entire city watching?
To do that, we had to change not just behaviour, but culture. We needed to spark a conversation big enough to move the marathon into the mainstream.
WHAT WE MADE
We positioned the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival as “the world’s most encouraging marathon”.
Our first step was appointing comedian (and keen runner) Joel Creasey as the festival’s first-ever Chief Encouragement Officer. His job was simple: get Melbourne talking. About running. About supporting. About showing up.
The message was clear: even if you weren’t running the marathon, you could still be part of it. By making signs of encouragement, cheering on the runners, or simply posting about it.
The campaign spread fast. Creators joined in. Olympic runners ran with it (ahem). Breakfast shows picked it up. News outlets ran stories. Social feeds filled with runners, (from veterans to first timers), and everyday Melburnians all voicing their support.
WHY IT MATTERED
By reframing Melbourne as the supporting capital of Australia, we unlocked a new kind of civic pride built not on rivalry, but on encouragement.
Seeing signs lining the route, spectators urging runners forward, and a finish inside the spiritual home of Melbourne (the mighty MCG) proved that support can be a defining identity for Melburnians.
This year laid the foundation for the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival to become a genuine cultural force. And with run clubs exploding in popularity, the event is perfectly positioned to ride this wave and grow from a beloved race into a national movement.
With this momentum, the ambition now shifts.
Our focus becomes turning Melbourne from the supporting capital of Australia… into the supporting capital of the world!
WHAT MATTERED TO IMG
“ICON understood the brief instantly and delivered a campaign that truly cut through. They helped turn the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival into a city-wide movement, and the results speak for themselves. We're excited to continue doing great things together.”
WHO MADE IT
Client services
Creative strategy
Creative
Comms
Production
RESULTS
The campaign delivered record-breaking outcomes:
- 34 million earned impressions
- Front page of The Age
- Coverage on Channel 9, Channel 7, and ABC News with live crosses through the race
- Almost twice the coverage of 2024.
The campaign proved that Melbourne truly is the supporting capital of Australia