By Liam Macleod
At Allaway, our commitment to creating community driven event experiences that leave a lasting impact has been exemplified through our year-on-year partnership with Oiselle and their Birdcamp Running Festival.
This case study delves into our partnership, revealing the journey of the Birdcamp Running Festival’s growth. We also explore how its growing connection with brand ambassadors and third-party brand activations helps creates an enhanced sense of value.
Year 1: Cultivating Community – Birdcamp 2018
In 2018, Oiselle turned to us after experiencing limitations at previous venues. The first year of the Birdcamp Running Festival at our flagship property marked the inception of a new journey.
Oiselle’s customers, who had never met face to face, united for three days of inspiration, motivation, and running. The experience was packed with programming and activities designed to bring people together and inspire them.
Opening welcomes
First, an opening welcome. Without a doubt the best way to officially kickstart the event. Once everyone had checked-in it’s the first opportunity to bring everyone together and to share the vision for the Birdcamp Running Festival.
Breakout sessions with Oiselle-sponsored athletes.
Oiselle sponsors a team of professional athletes who compete around the world, many of them come to enjoy the community experience but to also share their knowledge with regular runners.
Workout classes.
Engaging and unique classes are added that are not likely offered in typically gyms and sports clubs, Oiselle uses these as an opportunity to provide cool classes with high interest and attendance.
Community runs.
A combination of trail running and road running of various distances is offered at different times so people can come together, get active, get chatty and get confidence.
CEO Keynote.
Many companies are built from the top down, Oiselle is led by the community and their CEO is there to share, listen, and participate.
Recreational activities
It can’t be all work no play, so the Allaway team build in recreational sessions that include the chance to take on a 40-element adventure course, archery, volleyball, pickle ball and enjoy waterfront adventures such as canoeing, kayaking and stand-up paddle-boarding.
The evenings were filled with engaging programming, including a runway show introducing new product designs and exclusive Birdcamp merchandise, solidifying the sense of community.
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Key Event Improvements:
• A new venue with 8+ miles of private trail running options.
• Oiselle x Allaway Onsite team.
• Added adventure and waterfront activities.
Year 2: Strengthening Bonds and Expanding Horizons – Birdcamp 2019
The second year of the running festival reinforced the partnership’s depth with year on year growth on ticket sales. With growing attendance we had to revisit logistics. The growing complexity of operations led to the introduction of a digital app for guests which aimed to streamline session sign-ups, provide real time communication. This gave guests the opportunity to provide feedback from sessions. This two-way communication allowed Allaway and Oiselle to make better improvements.
Next we focused on handling the extra attendees. We introduced additional programming opportunities, new activities to foster group games and a more expansive list of workshops and sessions that would catering to diverse running interests. These workshops included a writing session in a treehouse and a feedback with apparel designers to create a stronger range of running bras.
With a strong group of returning guests the sense of Oiselle community grew. For Oiselle, and any brand, it’s important to recognize the true significance of customer lifetime value.
Furthermore we mapped out a way to expand the Oiselle pop-up store. An onsite store meant Birdcamp guests would have first, or exclusive access, to new designs and apparel.
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Key Event Improvements:
• Introduction of a digital app.
• Expanded daily programming.
• A bespoke pop-up store.
“Birdcamp is for bad ass women who know what they want and love what they do” Sally Bergensen CEO
Year 3: Nurturing Relationships and Enriching Experiences – Birdcamp Running Festival 2022
After a brief hiatus due to global pandemic challenges and Oiselle’s Olympic commitments in Tokyo, Oiselle wanted to, but couldn’t return until 2022 to host another running festival.
Although it had been 3 years between events, the operational structure closely resembled the previous Birdcamp. The Oiselle planning team trusted our events team to take care of the nitty gritty details so they could focus on building their community and growing. The third running festival really shows the trust and efficiency achieved over time.
At this event third-party brand activations and partnerships flourished. This enhanced the event’s value. For instance, brands like Solomon, Garmin and Nuun tapped into the Oiselle community as their target demographics are in alignment. Because of this attendees saw the value of this through welcome bags filled with goodies. In addition to complimentary running shoes there were loyalty discounts for smart watches and the chance to stock up on running nutrients.
On the Allaway side, we focused on providing seamless event logistics. In addition to everything else, we revamped the menu for bespoke gourmet dining, designed for every athletes training plan. Also, we found new ways to freshen up the program so returners once again felt the variety of activities, sessions and entertainment.
Last but not least, in 2022 the Allaway content production team also captured photo & video content from the event. Oiselle could use for recaps, websites, socials and newsletters.
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Key Event Improvements:
• Stronger 3rd party brand partnerships.
• Revamped gourmet food menu.
• Streamlined event logistics.
• Content capture and creation.
Year 4: Empowering the Community Ecosystem – Birdcamp Running Festival 2023
The fourth year saw the Birdcamp Running Festival come back for yet another event. Oiselle understands that an incredible experience makes for better customer lifetime value. The more returners used word-of-mouth the less they need to rely on additional or traditional advertising to sell tickets.
In addition to this, the content captured from the 2022 event helped them showcase the experience through multi-channel efforts ahead of time. This helped build excitement, interest and engagement. People would share their photos from 2022 on social, tag Oiselle and organically increase brand and event awareness. A simple tactic that has a win / win outcome for everyone.
Moreover, our event venue continued to build new onsite facilitates with improved accessibility features. The versatility of the venue helped to improve planning efforts but also helps to reduce running costs. Oiselle can now safely and securely store their physical boxes etc onsite between events, eliminating the need for costly cross-country shipping back to Seattle after each event.
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Key Event Improvements:
• Simplified pre-event process.
• Reduced running costs.
• Enhanced venue accessibility.
Undoubtedly, the partnership between Oiselle’s Running Festival experience and Allaway has evolved into a symbol of community, positive impact, and brand loyalty.
As we look to the future, we anticipate even greater success. Together we aim to bring more runners and like-minded brands together in the spirit of togetherness and shared passion.
The Oiselle Birdcamp Running Festival serves as a testament to the transformative power of community and collaboration in the realm of fitness and sports events.
““Hosting Birdcamp with the Allaway team for three years, my gratitude for the staff runs deep. So much love, energy and warmth. They always anticipated our needs, and exceeded them in every way.” ” ATSUKO TAMURA Oiselle President
