LONDON — The UK and Ireland arm of American performance running shoe brand Brooks has appointed Sunny Side Up as its retained UK agency, after a competitive pitch.

Brooks Running, based out of Seattle, is the running shoe partner of Parkrun, Run Through and The Great Run Company, and is worn by athletes including Josh Kerr, the reigning British 1500m World Champion.

The B Corp agency –  which has clients across the food, drinks, health, nutrition, sports and travel sectors – will focus on consumer acquisition via media relations, brand experiences, partnerships and influencer marketing for the brand. 

The account will be led by Sunny Side Up founder Nick Woods, reporting into Brooks marketing manager for UK and Ireland Lee Emanuel, who said: “The opportunity for Brooks to connect with runners and active people in the UK & Ireland continues. We’ve seen strong growth YOY over the last decade, but we continue to strive to connect with existing and new runners to our brand.

“Our pitch process was rigorous and highly competitive, with a number of very strong agencies presenting some fantastic plans and thinking. Sunny Side Up really impressed us with their reading of our current situation, their relationships, their enthusiasm for the opportunity we have and their energy. We believe they’ll increase the eyeballs on our brand, especially among dedicated and fitness runners”

Woods added: “We are a team full of sports, fitness and running nuts, so getting enthused about a brand in this sector is always easy. But Brooks particularly stands out given its history, heritage, position and products and because its vision is very aligned with our own. This is a company which loves runners of every age, ability, gender, colour and motivation, and we’re excited to bring their character to life even more over the coming months and years.”