RAPTOR | gymshark

On Campus

Making Gymshark the go-to fitness brand for college students.

We worked with Gymshark to cultivate a community of fitness enthusiasts on campus. To drive affiliation in line with their retail store openings, Raptor launched Gymshark U across Florida, New York, and Texas this Fall to establish connection with collegiate audiences. The Gymshark U team connects the brand to local communities and embeds Gymshark into the heartbeat of student life.

student focused

Brief

Gymshark set out to launch a collegiate ambassador program across three core schools to align with their retail store openings. The objectives were threefold:

to cultivate a community of fitness enthusiasts on campus
to authentically connect with students through social media
to prove measurable ROI via affiliate links.

Insight

Our insights revealed barriers to entry for students engaging with the Gymshark brand - widely seen as a brand catering primarily to ‘gym bros’, rather than all fitness journeys. Based on this insight, our strategy aimed to diversify representation in the ambassador program. To recruit students, we sought those who represented different stages of their gym journey. This ensured the program reflected the everyday student experience whilst remaining rooted in Gymshark’s mission, We Do Gym.

Response

We launched Gymshark U through an in-person training day at their NYC HQ. Bringing together students from NYU, UT Austin and U Miami, the team experienced a dynamic introduction to the brand mission, vision and values. The day incorporated immersive insight sessions, brand training, photoshoots, a community building lift club and engaging social media challenges.

This experience brought to life Gymshark’s core tenet of community, leaving ambassadors with a deep understanding of how to communicate Gymshark’s brand to students on their respective campuses.

Returning to campus, each ambassador worked with Raptor to deliver a set of campus challenges focused on bringing the brand into new fitness communities including activities like:

Content Creation Challenges
On Campus Run Clubs
Pilates Classes
Pop-Up Fitness Challenges
Campus Club Partnerships

The ambassadors allow Gymshark to establish an on-going, and mutually beneficial, relationship with the college audience throughout the academic year. Rather than a one off activation amongst the noise of campus life, the Gymshark U ambassador team continuously feed the brand naturally into day-to-day student routines. Whether on their doomscroll feed, on their way to a campus gym or through their organization and club involvement - Gymshark U ensures every student on campus has heard of the brand.

Results

The Gymshark U ambassadors are proof of the value in tapping into peer-driven communities to drive brand growth.

Across 10 weeks of campaign activity, the ambassadors have surpassed campaign KPIs due to their genuine passion for fitness:

500k+

Social Reach

3.5k+

Guerrilla Interaction

+66%

YoY Sales Uplift