Adidas
MCR MARATHON
360
adidas was in its fourth year as lead partner of Manchester Marathon – the UK’s second-biggest marathon, and Europe’s fourth-largest. Momentum was strong: adidas’s share of the city’s shoe market had grown by 174% since 2023.
The aim for 2026 was to drive further growth by A) finding routes into ADIZERO – adidas’s running line – for Gen Z; B) cementing ADIZERO as the pinnacle of speed; C) building on ADIZERO’s local cultural relevance.
Tangent devised, produced and managed a four-day immersive activation that transformed adidas’s Manchester flagship store into the Home of Fast – a buzzy, eclectic content hub that was impossible to miss during marathon week. Dramatically refitted, the store became the start and finish line for an array of activity, including: 5k product trials with local running clubs; creative workshops hosting local influencers; sign-writing for race spectators; an immersively branded bib-collection zone; and exclusive giveaways, unlocked through Manchester Marathon merch purchases, and delivered via a bespoke vending machine.
We helped runners feel physically and mentally prepped with carb-loading in The Runners’ Kitchen; zero-gravity chairs and phone-line pep talks in The Taper Lounge; and pre-race hairstyling, massaging and elite-athlete advice in The Guest Room.On race day, the activation spread across the 26.2 mile route. Our ADIZERO-branded placards were omnipresent, while spectators’ supportive messages – collated in The Taper Lounge over the preceding days – appeared on a mobile screen along the race’s final stretch. A branded Photo Finish area and Metrolink tram wraps and station takeovers extended the Home of Fast messaging, before a post-race party back at the flagship store wrapped up the activation.
Home of Fast was an unqualified success for adidas. On the Saturday, the store recorded its highest single-day traffic and net sales since opening (outside of Oasis events).
On Instagram, total views of Home of Fast content hit 457.7k, with a reach of 159.5k, generating 28.7k likes. Over on TikTok, our reach hit 164k, with 547k impressions and 237k video views. Earned media coverage included Manchester Evening News, Runner Alerts, City Life and Hartcopy – reaching a combined potential readership of 11.775 million.
