The topical pain relief category had gone stale, stuck in clichés of silver-haired gardeners and creaky backs. After four years of flat performance, Deep Heat and Deep Freeze needed to reignite relevance and growth. With a modest budget, we set out to reposition the brands as modern essentials for active bodies, not ageing ones.
We identified a fast-growing audience: HYROX athletes, high-intensity, performance-driven, and in constant need of preparation and recovery support. Becoming the Official Muscle Preparation and Recovery Partner for HYROX gave us direct access to this evangelical community.
At events across the UK, we brought the partnership to life with immersive Preparation and Recovery Zones, offering guided warm-ups, massages, and physiotherapy using Deep products, showing, not telling, their performance benefit. We then amplified the experience digitally, capturing athlete stories and creator content through a partnership with LADbible, scaling it across Meta and TikTok.
The impact was game-changing: 10M+ views, 100K+ engagements, and significant brand reappraisal. 62% of viewers saw Deep as essential for prep and recovery, 86% intended to use it in their workouts and sales soared, with Deep Heat Roll-On up +26% YOY.
A smart, authentic partnership that reignited a tired category and proved sport’s power to transform brands.
