In this series, features and series developer Heather Nicholls takes you behind the scenes of some of the most compelling brand activations and events.
This week, we meet Nteractive, the agency behind New balance‘s activation at the London Marathon 2026.
The Brief:
For Nteractive’s third year supporting New Balance at the marathon, the brief was to deliver a year-over-year elevation of the experience.
The agency’s philosphy is always add value, never subtract. It focused on finding fresh, high-impact ways to energise runners, VIP guests, and clients alike. By combining immersive seasonal storytelling with smart, scalable production, Nteractive ensured that the growing budget translated directly into an unforgettable brand moment.
The Execution:
The inspiration for the event came from New Balance being laser-focused on playing at the intersection of sport and culture. The brand knows that running is the key to winning at that junction. A spokesperson for Nteractive said: “To support a pinnacle brand with such high ambitions, it is fundamental that we elevate every experience within the sport. This activation was inspired by the need to create a global moment, one that authentically supports the community running scene, brand partners, and the media alike.”
The development process began with a comprehensive review and debrief of previous years’ experiences, looking beyond London to global marathons like New York, Valencia, Mont Blanc and Merline.
After this, they went into phases of ideation and conceptualisation, followed by a period of planning where the agency reviewed every single touchpoint. Throughout the entire journey, from the first idea to the final execution, the agency ensured that the experience of the runner remains front of mind.
A spokesperson for Nteractive said: “The New Balance Marathon week is a true multi-agency success story.” The client brings together delivery experts in their specialised fields and they all worked together to ensure the brand, the runners and their friends and family have a memo
The spokesperson added: “Consistent multi-agency calls and clear communication are essential to making this collaboration work.”
The biggest challenge faced during planning was allowing for flexibility and the freedom to change during the planning phase. The spokesperson said: “Even though the programme is three years in, we still need to keep it fresh, allowing for last-minute programming and welcoming new creative ideas at any point.”
An example of this was the design, build, and delivery of a full 2027 product showcase for selected partners at the hospitality hotel, an addition that was made only weeks out from delivery.
In terms of technology, 2026 marked the first year moving to RainFocus, a cloud based event marketing and management platform which allows Nteractive to improve brand communications with guests, track data and develop best in class processes for other New Balance Events, beyond marathon events. The spokesperson said: “This ensures we can deliver the right support at the right time as the brand continues to grow.”
The Results:
The spokespersons said: “The activation was a great success. The energy in London was huge; with the marathon growing bigger each year, it’s impossible to miss such a mass-participation event, especially alongside strong OOH campaigns, retail partner activations, and community moments.”
Nteractive added to the success of the activation by supporting the main brand moment at the Running Show and delivering a full hospitality programme, all supported by creative interpretation of the seasonal campaign.
The activation achieved continued elevation and pinnacle conversions with both partners and consumers. It also drove increased awareness through running communities and their trends, ensuring a strong global focus on the UK and Europe.
The feedback from the client highlighted an enhanced retail and brand experience at the ExCeL Running Show, alongside praise for the increased hospitality experiences at the hotel, the start line, and the race-ready event.
Trends and learnings:
One of the trends that Nteractive is notice is ‘less is more’. This is a focus on a quality audience rather than just numbers. This involves extending participation through long pre-event engagement and continued post-event comms, ensuring the agency amplifys a meaningful, authentic experience.
They are also seeing a shift toward less reliance on data; keeping ahead of the curve means there isn’t always time to analyse, so they have to rely on collaboration with experienced stakeholders to build human momentum and energy. Finally, the agency embrace the “permission to fail” by balancing safe, proven tactics with riskier, creative bets.
The spokesperson said: “From this event we learned to always plan with ‘newness’ in mind. We continue to look for efficiences that help provide fresh ideas; if something worked well one year, we don’t blindly repeat it. We also focus on developing custom tools that specifically aid the client’s endeavors rather than using homogenised standards. Ultimately, we’ve seen that data is not the sole driving factor in decision-making, expert collaboration is.”