• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, July 8, 2022

While Merrell is no stranger to the outdoors, the footwear brand is stepping into new territory with an elite trail-running collection.

It’s introducing the two new models with “Same is boring,” an ad campaign playing on trail runners’ love of the unexpected.

“The thing trail runners tell us is that they run on the trail because it gives them joy, in a way that running on the road doesn’t,” says Lindsey Lindemulder, brand marketing director for Merrell.

The 41-year-old brand is well known for top-selling hiking boots and already sells shoes aimed at casual runners. But with the pandemic-fueled explosion in performance running still going strong, the company saw an opening in finding those elite adventurers,  Lindemulder tells Marketing Daily.

“Many companies make excellent performance shoes, but they were born in the gym, on the road or the treadmill,” she says. “We feel we have unique authority. The trail is always changing, and we know that.”

Just about every shoe company markets at least a few models of trail-running shoes, a category that has shown exceptionally explosive growth since the pandemic began. Lindemulder  cites NPD Group sales figure that the segment has grown to $600 million.

“We’re seeing an increase in running. We’re seeing an increase in trail runners. And we’re also seeing more people hiking in trail-running shoes,” she says.

The new shoes -- MTL Long Sky ($140) and MTL MQM ($150) -- are designed through the company Merrell Test Lab.  Lindemulder says these models compete most directly with similar ones from Nike, Hoka One One and Ultra.

Merrell created the campaign in-house and shot it in South Africa, home to many competitive trail runners.

Ads are running on connected TV, “a new channel for us, so we can connect to a broader audience,” and such verticals as Runner’s World. “Our target audience is also interested in all kinds of tech, so you’ll see us in places like Wired and Complex,” Lindemulder says.

Merrell, based in Rockford, Michigan, is owned by Wolverine Worldwide and owns brands such as Sperry, Saucony, Stride Rite and Sweaty Betty.