Tough Mudder

This past weekend I completed my first Tough Mudder.  If you haven’t heard of a Tough Mudder, check this out: http://toughmudder.com/video/.  It’s basically a half marathon through the mud, with the occasional wall to climb, ice bath to jump in, or wires to electrocute you.  The event was insanely popular and crowded; I never knew so many people enjoyed pain.  Unlike most races, time didn't matter at all and the goal was just to complete the course.   Teamwork and camaraderie were placed above individual accomplishments and I am proud that all eight members of my team crossed the finish line.  Beyond enjoying the event, I was very impressed with their advertising.  I first found out about Tough Mudder because some friends of mine participated in Toronto and proceeded to plaster their Facebook walls with awesome photos.  That got me interested enough to check out the website and see if any events would be in my area.  When a classmate said they were putting a team together to travel to Ohio for the Mansfield event, I was all in. 

My Digital Badge

Tough Mudder has grown tremendously in the past couple of years, with the bulk of their advertising coming via sharing of photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.  It has to be a very budget friendly advertising plan.  They are really good at it.  To start with, the event is hard so people want to share the fact that they did it.  Secondly, the photos that you get are awesome and people want to share them.  In fact, all eight of my teammates currently have a Tough Mudder photo as their cover shot on Facebook.  They also sent me a free digital badge as soon as I completed the race, allowing me to claim it and share it on whatever sites I chose.  They highly encouraged me to make it my profile picture on Facebook  but I managed to resist that and just shared it on my wall.  My friends all “liked” my photos and maybe one day they’ll compete in a Tough Mudder of their own.  By creating something that people are proud to share about, Tough Mudder has been able to really utilize online channels to grow their brand.

My Team - and also my Facebook cover photo
(Those orange headbands aren't for sale, you have to finish a Tough Mudder to get one ...  you know you want one)