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January Hard hero

January Hard

Client Strava (Hypothetical)
Date 2026
About Strava's app engagement drops off a cliff every winter. Athletes stay indoors, activity logs go quiet, and the community that makes the platform valuable goes dormant. "January Hard" is a hypothetical integrated campaign that reframes winter running from something you survive into something you prove. The concept spans print advertising, out-of-home, in-app activation with a custom challenge and Grit Score leaderboard, and social sharing — turning the worst weather of the year into the ultimate flex on Strava.

Scope

  • Campaign Strategy
  • Art Direction
  • Copywriting
  • Print Ads
  • OOH / Billboard
  • In-App Activation
  • UI/UX Design
  • Social Media

The Brief

Strava's engagement and daily active users plummet during winter months. New Year's resolutioners start January motivated but abandon the app by week three when freezing temperatures and dark mornings kill their momentum. The brief needed to combat off-season churn without relying on discounts or generic motivational messaging.

The Approach

I built the campaign around a single human insight: a 5K on a sunny spring day is just a workout, but a 5K in a freezing rainstorm is a story worth sharing — and Strava gives you the audience. 'January Hard' reframes winter exercise as a badge of honour through cinematic print ads, a native in-app challenge with a custom Grit Score leaderboard, shareable IG story cards, and out-of-home executions.

January Hard print ad — aerial
January Hard print ad — street level

Two executions, one system. Each ad pairs cinematic aerial and street-level photography with real activity data pulled from Strava's UI. The orange route line cuts through every frame as the campaign's visual signature. The data isn't decoration. It's proof.

January Hard roadside billboard
January Hard transit placement

The same campaign adapted for two different out-of-home contexts. The roadside billboard strips back to just the image, headline, and branding — everything a driver needs to absorb in three seconds at speed. The transit placement keeps the full data overlay because commuters standing on a platform have dwell time to read. Same creative system, different environmental demands.

January Hard in-app challenge screen
January Hard Grit Score leaderboard

The campaign also lives inside the product. "January Hard" is a native Strava challenge that appears in users' home feeds, inviting them to log miles in the worst conditions of the year. The tougher the weather, the higher your Grit Score. Complete the challenge, earn a digital badge for your Trophy Case. Every run becomes a reason to open the app instead of staying on the couch.

January Hard story card — stats
January Hard story card — weather
January Hard story card — Grit Score

The final touchpoint — every completed run generates a shareable story card with the athlete's stats, route, and Grit badge. Three different runners, three different conditions, three different ways to brag. Each share turns a participant into a media channel, pulling their followers into the challenge without a single paid impression.