Every Woman’s Marathon
2024 || Client: MilkPEP
Develop a digital ecosystem to promote, educate, and enable registration for a brand new marathon designed for women by women.
Methods:
User research, competitive analysis, content strategy, UX writing, wireframes, prototyping, stakeholder presentations
Impact
2,000+ signups in the first week and sold out in 6 months (7,000 participants)
Average site engagement time of 1m 54s
Bounce rate of 21.7% for the top 7 pages
The Challenge
For several years, Milk has shown up for women at marathons across the country with cool recovery lounges. The protein and nutrients within one glass provide a well-rounded boost for athletes that is particularly helpful post-activities.
But we wanted to do more than just show up after a race; we wanted to design a better race. Women weren’t allowed to race in marathons for 76 years, so what could a marathon look like if it was designed by women runners, for women runners, and fueled by Milk?
KPIs
Registrations for race (Sell Out = 7,000 signups)
Additional sign ups for ‘Team Milk’
Low bounce rates, high engagement time
Research
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Competitive Analysis
We began doing a competitive audit, looking at other marathon/race groups such as the Boston/New York/Chicago marathons, Tough Mudder, Rock’n’Roll Marathons, etc. We also studied groups like Nike for inspiration on education.
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User Interviews & Surveys
We spoke with 30 women runners, ages 18-64, who were a mix of aspirational and experienced runners. We learned about their motivations, barriers, and pain points regarding running and preparing for marathons.
Research Takeaways
Barriers
43% surveyed said finding time and resources for training prevents them from signing up for marathons.
The mental commitment and risk of injury are also daunting factors.
For newer runners, the course time limit (typically 6 hours) is intimidating and discourages them from participating.
Motivators
82% of women said they’re more likely to sign up for a race if a friend/ club will sign up with them
Most would sacrifice their race time to help motivate others to finish
96% of mothers interviewed said they run to set an example for their children
We aligned on our experience pillars.
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An Accessible Race
From first-time to seasoned runners, this race is designed to be inclusive to all running abilities and body types.
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A Community of Women
Join a supportive community of women to connect with throughout the marathon journey.
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A Weekend of Fun
It’s more than a race, It’s a festival! Celebrate with live music, fun classes, wellness chats, and a party!
Design
Content Strategy and Wireframes
Armed with user insights and defined objectives, and with 5 months until the marathon announcement, I brainstormed and collaborated with the strategy and creative teams and mapped out the website's structure and functionality.
Our primary focus was creating direct and easy access to race information and registration through our third-party partner, Run Sign Up. Secondary to that we wanted to start providing support for training with training guides and nutrition tips (highlighting milk and it’s benefits in training to bolster brand equity).
I sketched and designed with a mobile-first approach, as is standard practice, but this was all the more important to do because we knew a lot of our media ads would be pushing traffic to the site via socials.
Prototyping
See mobile prototype here
It went live.
Impact
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Record Sign Ups
Over 2,000 signups in the first week. Sold out within 6 months
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Strong Site Performance
Average site engagement time of 1m 54s and bounce rate of 21.7% on top 7 pages
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10K New Members
Team Milk membership has increased from 20,000 members (January 2024) to over 30,000 members (July 2024)