Running shoe brand Mizuno sought to drive sales and brand awareness for its product in the U.S. Before launching the campaign, U.S. brand awareness was at just 1 percent. With awareness (and the sense of comfort that comes along with familiarity and experience with a brand) being the main barrier to purchase, Mizuno launched the Mezamashii Run Project. Instead of using their entire campaign budget on paid media, they strategically used the brand’s core consumers to help spread the message. They used digital, print and search in relevant environments like Runner’s World, Active.com and Map My Run to appeal to the broader running community. In just four months, the results have been great: brand favorability has spiked 54 percent and nearly 17,000 new people signed up for the Mezamashii Run Project.