Ultra Challenge

Hummingbird digital: Our results

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The Challenge

Ultra Challenge is one of the UK’s largest endurance event organisers, running over a dozen national walking, running, and fundraising events each year. With routes spanning from the Lake District to the South Coast, the brand had built a strong reputation among fitness enthusiasts and charity fundraisers alike.

But by early 2024, participation had plateaued. Registrations from returning participants remained steady, yet growth among younger, first-time challengers was slowing. Competitors were flooding social media with high-energy content, and the Ultra Challenge digital funnel — once effective — had become fragmented, relying heavily on organic referrals and legacy paid audiences.

Meanwhile, cost-per-sign-up was rising year on year, particularly across Meta and Google Ads, where competition for event-related search terms had intensified.

The brief to Hummingbird was clear:
Rebuild the performance marketing ecosystem — attract a new generation of participants, reignite social engagement, and reduce CPA while driving record-breaking registrations.

Year

2024

Channels

Paid Social | PPC

Industry

Events & Experiences

Our Approach

We knew the solution had to be both analytical and emotional. Yes, this was a numbers game — but also a motivation game.

Through audience research and CRM analysis, we uncovered three dominant motivators that drove people to join an Ultra Challenge:

1. Fitness – people looking for a personal milestone or physical goal.
2. Fundraising – participants driven by charity and community impact.
3. Adventure – experience-seekers wanting a memorable weekend outdoors.

Each group required different creative, messaging, and targeting logic. So, we rebuilt the entire paid funnel around intent-based audience segmentation, ensuring every ad spoke directly to why that person might sign up — not just what the event was.

1. Performance Strategy: Rebuilding the Funnel

We restructured campaigns across both Meta and Google to align with the full participant journey — from inspiration to registration.

• Awareness (Discovery): lifestyle-led storytelling and video highlights to inspire curiosity.
• Consideration (Motivation): deeper event detail ads featuring distance options, fundraising goals, and testimonials.
• Conversion (Action): urgency-led offers and countdown retargeting.

Each campaign tier had its own creative tone and KPI structure, ensuring spend was allocated to both new discovery and efficient sign-up conversions.

2. Paid Social: Real Stories, Real Energy

For the creative layer, we focused on authenticity — showing real participants, not models.

We produced Meta and TikTok campaigns built around the rallying call:
“Walk It. Run It. Own It.”

Every piece of content had to pass one test: does it make someone feel like they could do it too?

We collaborated with event videographers and participants to create UGC montages and drone footage capturing the emotion, camaraderie, and scenic routes that defined the brand.

Creative formats included:
• Short-form Reels/TikToks: 10–15 seconds of pure energy — muddy trainers, high-fives, sunrise starts.
• Carousel Ads: showcasing event variety — Thames Path Challenge, Chiltern 50, Peak District Ultra.
• Story Ads: using countdown overlays and “spots filling fast” CTAs for urgency.

We also introduced a participant spotlight series, turning past challengers into micro-influencers. Their genuine reflections — on endurance, purpose, and pride — delivered higher engagement than any studio-shot creative.

Within six weeks, engagement rates across Meta increased 3.9×, and TikTok — previously untested for the brand — became a major traffic driver among 25–40-year-olds.

3. PPC Optimisation: Capturing Intent, Not Just Clicks

On the search side, we rebuilt Ultra Challenge’s PPC structure from scratch.

We split campaigns by event type and intent, targeting high-converting keywords such as:

• “UK charity walk”
• “marathon challenge”
• “50k run weekend”
• “adventure fundraising events”

Ad copy was rewritten with emotional triggers — not just logistical information — focusing on why people take part:
“Push your limits. Raise money. Experience the UK like never before.”

Dynamic Search Ads and responsive copy variations were implemented, allowing Google to match the right message to each user’s intent.

Conversion tracking was enhanced with granular event tagging, ensuring accurate attribution across campaigns.

The result? Click-through rates rose 41%, while CPA dropped 38% across the board.

4. Retargeting & Remarketing: Closing the Loop

We built a connected remarketing loop using CRM data, site retargeting, and abandoned-cart flows for unfinished registrations.

These users received dynamic reminder ads showing the specific event they’d viewed — often with countdown urgency like “2 weeks left to register.”

Email and ad sequencing worked hand-in-hand, creating a cohesive journey that pulled warm leads back into action.

This automation alone recovered nearly 18% of lost sign-ups, contributing significantly to total ROI.

The Results

By summer 2024, Ultra Challenge had turned its marketing momentum around — achieving its most successful digital season in company history.

Key Highlights:
🏅 +184% increase in registrations year-on-year
💸 38% reduction in CPA across paid channels
📈 2.6× return on ad spend (ROAS)
Meta video ads outperformed static assets by 71%, while TikTok became the brand’s fastest-growing engagement platform — driving both awareness and sign-ups among younger participants.

Overall, the campaign didn’t just deliver numbers — it redefined how Ultra Challenge communicates its purpose: accessible adventure, community impact, and personal achievement.

From endurance to inspiration — Ultra Challenge proved that performance marketing works best when it’s human.