Through social listening, we discovered a new and unexpectedly niche use of Heinz – long-distance runners were replacing expensive running gels with ketchup packets.

We wanted to celebrate this unconventional behavior, and recognize the runners who sprint on our sauce. So we tapped into another quirky thing runners do — making GPS art out of their runs.

So, we hijacked the world’s biggest running apps and turned Heinz’s iconic keystone into running routes that guided runners to our ketchup.

We launched at the height of marathon season, on the world’s biggest running apps, while offering free packets to anyone who ran the keystone.

Inspired by GPS running artists, we used specialized GIS software to create keystone-shaped routes in running apps like Strava & MapMyRun. We analyzed openly available runner and city data – along with data and locations from Heinz’s B2B restaurant team – to find keystone shapes in the real world.

RESULTS

Over 1500 runners ran our maps, other brands like Gerber and Chipotle joined in the fun, and runners in cities without our routes even made their own Heinz running art. 

The campaign got global coverage, from Singapore to Seoul to San Francisco, amassing over 650M earned impressions, including features in the New York Times, Runner’s World, USA Today, Men’s Journal, Daily Mail, and ESPN.

But most importantly, we made it clear to our most unique fans that if you’re going for a run, it has to be Heinz.

  • 1500 runners participated 

  • 100+ International Headlines

  • 179% increase to social engagement

  • 672 Million earned media impressions