Case Study | ROI/Sales
Tough Mudder uses Facebook as its primary channel to
market its obstacle course challenges around the world.
Facebook has helped Tough Mudder produce a 24X increase
in sales in two years.
Tough Mudder is a challenge that features a
10-12 mile course packed with 25 obstacles
designed by British Special Forces to test
your all-around strength, stamina, mental
grit and camaraderie.
facebook.com/toughmudder
Goals
Tough Mudder wanted to use Facebook to spread the word
about its series of obstacle course challenges that take place in
different cities around the world. Tough Mudder’s goals were
to:
• Increase brand awareness on a global scale
• Drive more people to sign up for its events in specific cities in a
way that was social and shareable
• Develop a community of individuals interested in participating
Key Results
24x
increase in sales in just two years,
with Facebook being the primary
advertising and engagement
channel for the company
in Tough Mudder
Approach
Build
Tough Mudder first created a Page in 2010 to increase its fan
base and drive conversation around its events. The company:
• Chose its logo as its profile picture and a cover photo
featuring a rugged competitor overcoming one of the Tough
Mudder obstacles
• Developed a tab called “Events” on its main Page view,
5-10x
return on advertising
spend on Facebook
allowing people to easily view locations and dates of
upcoming Tough Mudder challenges around the world
Connect
Tough Mudder also ran Facebook Ads to generate registrations
for its events and increase awareness of its organization:
• Targeted individuals by location and age, such as people
between the ages of 25 and 45 in Northern California
5-8x
higher click-through rate
(CTR) for ad in news feed vs.
traditional ad displays
• Targeted Likes and Interests such as”ice hockey,” “extreme
sports” and “MMA” to attract people who would be interested
in obstacle course events
• Used provocative ad text such as “One arm. One leg. He’s now
a Tough Mudder. Now what’s your excuse?” to encourage
people to participate in events.
Case Study | ROI/Sales
Engage
Tough Mudder increased engagement on its Page in several
ways:
• Posted pictures and stories of figures or characters who
made the “Tough Mudder Hall of Fame”
• Sparked conversations about its events by posting fill-in-theblank sentences, such as “The best part of Tough Mudder is
Build
“_______________” in addition to caption contests for photos
• Developed a custom tab called “Are You Mudder Ready?”
that allowed users to take a quiz about how prepared they
were to take on the 12-mile course, and share the results with
Connect
their networks
Influence
To continue to expand its reach and engagement on Facebook,
Influence
Engage
Tough Mudder took part in Facebook advertising beta programs
and routinely tested new ad units:
• Ran sponsored stories in the news feed that let people know
when one of their friends had liked the Tough Mudder Page
• Leveraged the Facebook Exchange to show more relevant ads
to people who engaged with the Tough Mudder website
• Experimented with video ads and sponsored stories to
increase brand awareness
• Tested “clusters” to show more relevant ads to past
customers about upcoming Tough Mudder events
Results
• 24X increase in sales in just two years, with Facebook being
“Facebook has been Tough Mudder’s primary
channel since our inception—our founders promoted the first event with $8,000 in
Facebook ads, driving more than 5,000 total
participants. It remains our primary channel,
due to its immense scale, product innovation,
social context and efficiency. Facebook continues to help us grow our business by introducing our brand to new markets and helping
us maintain contact with past participants
when we return to a market.”
Peter Wylie, Media Director, Tough Mudder LLC
the primary advertising and engagement channel for the
company
• 5-10X return on advertising spend on Facebook
• 5-8X higher click-through rate (CTR) for ads in news feed vs.
traditional ad displays
• 12X increase in the fan base, from 200,000 to more than 2.5
million, attributed to Facebook Ads in just a year and a half
• 20% of Tough Mudder participants say they were influenced
to sign up through Facebook Ads, according to a survey
conducted by the brand
Tools Used
• High quality creative & publishing
• Custom tab
• Registrant submissions and fan acquisition campaigns running across all Facebook placements
• Sponsored stories boosted with quality creative
• Facebook Exchange
• Homepage placement: right-hand side and
news feed
• Testing with “Custom Audiences”