Meet the Global CMO Who Traded Tech Giants for Trail Shoes
What does it take to launch a European running brand in the most competitive market in the world? Julien Vancauwenberghe has spent 25 years navigating the marketing world's biggest stages preparing to answer that question.
Fifteen years at Coca-Cola, where he repositioned Powerade and scaled Vitamin Water globally. Three years at Amazon, where he launched Amazon Fresh supermarkets. And now, as Global CMO of KIPRUN, he's preparing Decathlon's expert running brand for its April 2026 US debut.
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From Soccer Fields to Marketing Rooms
Julien's path to running wasn't linear. Growing up in northern France as a competitive soccer player, injuries in his late twenties forced a shift. What started as staying in shape evolved into meditation in motion, where runs either cleared his mind completely or sparked productive thinking that never happened at a desk.
His career mirrors this pattern. At Coca-Cola, he repositioned Powerade and scaled Vitamin Water globally. He changed Coca-Cola's brand architecture, which is why Coke Zero dropped its black packaging. At Amazon, he launched Amazon Fresh supermarkets. Then Decathlon, preparing KIPRUN for its global marketing moment.
The Challenger Brand Backed by Billions
KIPRUN is simultaneously a challenger brand and part of Decathlon, the third-largest sporting goods company in the world with $16 billion in annual revenue.
The origin story is pure running culture. In 2007, two Decathlon teammates attended the New York Marathon and were blown away by the crowd's energy. They wanted to be the first supporter of runners, to help them keep running.
Seventeen years later, KIPRUN is in 70 countries with 40 sponsored athletes. Their hydration vests are second-most worn at UTMB. French athlete Jimmy Garcia won the 10K world championship in their shoes.
The Three-Part Readiness Framework
Julien breaks down KIPRUN's April 2026 launch into three types of readiness.
Product readiness: KIPRUN showed up at The Running Event in 2024 with a tiny booth for feedback. They asked one question: are these products ready? The answer was yes.
Retail readiness: Finding the right wholesale partners. KIPRUN is launching with Running Warehouse and Runmore, retailers who want to build together and are trusted in their communities.
Brand readiness: KIPRUN relaunched its visual identity, simplified product naming, and established "More Runs More Life." The US launch focuses on three franchises: KD Ride daily trainer, KD Storm racing shoe, and KD Summit trail shoe, plus hydration vests.
All three had to align. Products without retail partners sit in warehouses. Retail partnerships without brand clarity confuse consumers.
Brand Marketing vs Performance Marketing
In running, you need brand marketing before performance marketing works. You need to stand for something and connect with consumers. You cannot express KIPRUN's proposition through Google Shopping ads.
Brand marketing happens at events, with stakeholders who give honest feedback, and with retailers who become advocates. This differs from beverages or tech, where you can drive awareness through mass media.
For smaller brands without enterprise measurement tools, Julien's advice is simple: believe in it. Get qualitative feedback. As Jeff Bezos said, if data and anecdotes conflict, follow the anecdotes.
The Influencer Authenticity Problem
KIPRUN finds it difficult when influencers switch brands for one-off activations. If you watch someone bounce between competing brands, credibility evaporates.
Julien's take: authenticity matters more than exclusivity. As long as influencers try products and frame their choice as "I chose this for these reasons," that differs from wearing a shoe for a paycheck. Longer partnerships signal authentic belief, but explanation can make shorter relationships authentic too.
What Makes a Good KIPRUN Partner
KIPRUN works with 40 athletes deeply involved in product co-creation throughout development.
Values alignment comes first. KIPRUN is approachable, honest, generous. When athletes describe being "just a number" at previous sponsors, KIPRUN sees opportunity. Their athletes talk to leadership daily.
The mission is democratizing high-performance products. They need athletes who recognize KIPRUN delivers on specs despite being more affordable. They look for athletes who believe the journey matters more than the destination.
That said, when you're a challenger brand, you need validation from results. Results open doors for journey-focused storytelling.
The Forgotten Marketing Channel
Perhaps the most actionable insight concerns customer referral programs.
Word-of-mouth from existing customers represents the most effective marketing with the lowest customer acquisition cost. A friend saying "try this brand" carries more weight than any paid partnership.
KIPRUN's free coaching app (KIPRUN Pacer, 1.1 million downloads) uses referrals effectively. Users reach goals, tell friends, get incentives for sharing. Julien recalls successful programs from Decathlon US and Amazon Fresh. It's old school but should be a must in every brand's arsenal.
Brands about to invest heavily in paid influencer campaigns would often get better results empowering existing customers to share with their networks.
Democratizing High Performance
At KIPRUN's heart is democratizing high-performance products. Not about being cheapest, but challenging the assumption that premium performance requires premium pricing.
The brand wants athletes who help people past the skepticism that more affordable means lower quality. Changing this perception requires patience, authentic partnerships, and consistent product validation.
This gives KIPRUN a unique lane: the brand that makes high performance accessible, backed by products that prove it in real-world use.
Top Takeaways
Brand marketing must precede performance marketing in running. You can't Google ad your way into a skeptical running community's trust. You need to stand for something, be singular, express it clearly, and connect with consumers before any performance marketing can work. Events, stakeholder relationships, and retail partnerships come before paid search.
The three-part readiness framework for market entry. Product readiness (validated through industry feedback), retail readiness (right wholesale partners who want to build together), and brand readiness (clear identity and positioning) must all align before entering a new market. Missing any one creates problems.
Customer referrals represent lower CAC than influencer partnerships. Word-of-mouth from existing customers who love your product is the most effective marketing channel. It's old school and harder to measure than digital campaigns, but empowering customers to share with their networks often delivers better results than paid influencer deals.
Authenticity in influencer partnerships matters more than exclusivity. Long-term brand relationships obviously signal genuine belief, but shorter partnerships can be authentic too if the creator actually tries the products and frames their endorsement as "I chose this for these specific reasons." What kills credibility is switching brands for paychecks without genuine connection.
Trust is built in droplets and lost in buckets in running. In identity-driven categories where products become part of someone's persona and personal challenges, over-promising or under-delivering destroys brand equity faster than anywhere else. Runners are particularly skeptical of marketing, so earning trust requires patience, consistency, and product validation.
Co-creation validates products better than endorsements. KIPRUN works with 40 athletes who give input throughout product development, not just at launch. This approach ensures products actually work for elite athletes while building authentic relationships where athletes feel ownership rather than being "just a number" at their previous sponsors.
When data conflicts with anecdotes, follow the anecdotes. This Jeff Bezos quote particularly applies to community-driven brands without enterprise measurement tools. Qualitative feedback from core consumers often reveals more truth than incomplete attribution data, especially when building brand in skeptical communities.
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About Jon Levitt and For The Long Run
Jon is a runner, cyclist, and podcast host from Boston, MA, who now lives in Boulder, CO. For The Long Run is aimed at exploring the why behind what keeps runners running long, strong, and motivated.
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