Strava has come a long way from its origins as a niche service for hardcore cyclists. Founded in 2009, the fitness tracking app now logs millions of activities every week across a vast range of sports — from casual dog walks to ultramarathons.

The company's chief marketing officer has been discussing how her team serves these very different exercise audiences. Strava's user base now spans beginners through to professional athletes, and the marketing operation works hand-in-hand with the product team to keep all of them engaged.

That close alignment between marketing and product sits at the heart of how Strava has scaled. Rather than chasing new audiences with disconnected campaigns, the brand builds its messaging around how people actually use the app — whether that is a first-time runner tracking a short jog or an ultramarathoner logging hundreds of kilometres.

The challenge for Strava is one many growing brands recognise: how to expand beyond a passionate core without alienating it. Cyclists were the app's original users, and they remain central to its identity. But the platform's weekly activity feed now reflects a far broader definition of athlete.

For marketing professionals, Strava's approach offers a case study in category expansion. The brand has not repositioned itself away from fitness tracking. Instead, it has widened what fitness tracking means — letting the product's flexibility do the audience expansion while marketing reinforces a single, inclusive brand promise.

The full interview with Strava's CMO covers how the team structures this work and how it coordinates with product development to serve users at every level of ability.

Source: Marketing Week (https://www.marketingweek.com/strava-scaled-running-core/)