cloy wrote:
Ads for local businesses on the routes... that would be an awesome feature and I wouldn't be upset that it was an ad. hah.
Think even broader: They have a massive data set that could be sold to race directors that would benefit both races and racers:
Some use cases:
1) Advertise a race to all runners in a 30 minute drive
2) Last minute: advertise a marathon in 4 weeks to runners who are averaging more than 35mpw and don't have a race on their calendar
3) Wait, Strava doesn't have a race cal you say? Fix that, then add in suggested 'opening races' that sponsors could pay to be considered for.
4) Strava already tracks shoe data... Work with advertisers to create sponsored posts congratulating you on your 500mi, then offering 10% off a pair of shoes which is the updated version of the ones you've been using
5) Content marketing. They have what, 50m users, a huge number of which can't all be experts? Create fantastic free knowledge resources with affiliate links. Or, alternatively, send out free training plans at the appropriate times automatically ("Congrats on your first 5k! Here's how to get to 10k!") and include access to paid content (higher level training plans, group coaching sessions, etc) at the same time.
6) Really properly build out scheduling, planning, and analysis tools, and then leverage their community for accountability and social aspects. You just nailed ten planned workouts in a row? Congrats, Strava understood that and made a post about it; your friends can click on the post, see your progress over the last 8 weeks, and Kudos you for the 10 workouts.
And really, I'm just spitballing here. I'm not a sports marketer. It just really seems like Strava is taking the "lashings will continue until morale improves" approach, while not being apparently much different than they were for me in like... 2010? I pay much more than Strava costs for membership to things that actually give me tangible benefits, but I've just never been super clear on what Strava gets me. Live Segments on my Wahoo are neat, but I'm not paying $60 just for that. RideWithGPS already handles my mapping...
JustinDoesTriathlon Owner, FuelRodz Endurance.