Run Gum: Pulling the Trigger on Web3
Navigating the DTC Learning Curve
Without much business background, Nick and team initially made countless branding, marketing and sell-through mistakes. But his notoriety among fans gained visibility and adoption for the product – even before the rise of “the influencer.”
Without a play book to follow, Nick learned by doing and grew Run Gum’s presence both online and in retail stores, especially at key outlets like Target and Walmart.
Since their DTC launch eight years ago, Run Gum has expanded into new product SKUs, with more in the pipeline. More recently, their community, ambassador and influencer strategies have helped them acquire new customers and positioned them well to make a Web3 play.
“I tried different sites to gate NFTs but none really worked. At that point, our team honestly didn’t know if the tool we needed existed. That’s when we found Novel.”
Pulling the Trigger on Web3
Run Gum wanted to position themselves in the market as the “clear leader in gum with benefits.” They believed NFTs could assist with their marketing efforts and would be great for PR.
They came up with an idea to sell an NFT of a flat art file of a gum flavor. It would give the NFT holder access to an exclusive discount on that flavor in perpetuity.
To make it a reality, COO and Chief of Staff, Nathan Woods, sought a solution that could fit his three criteria:
A simple experience that incorporated normal checkout flows
Clean integrations with their existing Shopify storefront
Functionality to add on physical products to NFT offers
But he struggled to find the proper backend or deployment architecture that met his needs.
“One of Novel’s big selling points was its functionality that allowed us to sell an NFT and latch on physical products – or sell products with an add-on of the NFT as a free gift. This optionality is critical to how cohesive the brand is perceived.”
Upgrading Community: The Run Gum Athletic Club
After demoing Novel and falling in love with the functionality, Run Gum immediately designed the foundation for the brand’s first NFT drop and began brainstorming their ambassador program launch.
In the past, the Run Gum community existed in Facebook groups, where they distributed promo codes to brand ambassadors. But once the codes were leaked, it became difficult to manage overhead, especially as the program ramped up over time.
Working with Novel, Run Gum realized they could move the Run Gum Athletic Club to Web 3, where they could continue to engage their community, but in a more exclusive way that also enhanced the value of their NFTs.
With their Web3-based ambassador program, NFT holders would not only gain access to an exclusive community, but also receive a Run Gum Athletic Club member card and a year’s worth of Run Gum Athletic Club gear – racing singlets, tracksuits, headbands and fanny packs, all designed with the vibe of an old-school athletic club.
“Success comes down to how you design DTC growth and retention strategies, all while adapting to new opportunities like Web3.”
The Novel Advantage
Novel provided the leverage that Run Gum needed to seamlessly integrate their NFT experience with Shopify.
They also benefited from the Novel team’s track record and learned expertise, having built successful eCom tools in the past.
