Excellent Strategic Partnership Marketing

24 Hour Fitness Tough Mudder Boot Camp Classes!

http://toughmudder.com/attend-a-tough-mudder-boot-camp/

Tough Mudder Sponsorship Video

I really like this video -- it portrays the purpose and essence of Tough Mudder very well and tells a great story.

Why Tough Mudder? Find out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nj_0BENg47o&feature=player_embedded

Tough Mudder Melbourne

This is a brand new promotional video that was just filmed last month in Melbourne. Very cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRbOzfxKOY0&feature=player_embedded#!

Managing Innovation

To remain competitive, established firms must continually seek out opportunities for growth and new methods for strategically reviewing their performance. Changes in customer needs, new technologies, and shifts in the competitive landscape require that companies continually innovate and initiate corporate ventures in order to compete effectively.

Identify important customer needs:

• They identified a need to redefine what "endurance" means and how to test all-around mental and physical strength.  People were bored with endurance and Will Dean identified that need and found a gap in the marketplace that wasn't being filled by the 3 mile, fun mud-runs, marathons and various road races, and ultra races.
• Through the Tough Mudder website, anyone is able to submit comments or questions.
• Tough Mudder employees are at the events, interacting with people, observing the race, and then coming back together at TMHQ with feedback and some new ideas on ways to make it better for next time.

Create Solutions that fill those needs:

• I think that Tough Mudder often works to fill customer needs mainly through process innovation -- they continually work to improve the efficiency of their service.

Build Innovation Teams:

• It seems as though Tough Mudder has cross-functional innovation teams.  Teams are functionally structured, but as all teams are dynamic, I can imagine that they are interactive and integrated with each other.  The best ideas to fully develop new concepts often come through collaboration from many different backgrounds.  

Innovation champions who keep effort on track:

• Will Deal is without doubt an innovation champion. He has created a culture of "intrapreneurship" within the company that thrives on creation of new value and ways to keep up Tough Mudder's competitive advantages.  He runs a business that is complete with happy employees to love their jobs and love coming to work.

Align the entire enterprise around creating value for customers:

• It is Tough Mudder's goal to challenge and inspire participates all over the world.  They want Tough Mudder to be more than just an event for people, but as a way of thinking.  They create value to customers by creating an opportunity for individuals and teams to experience a true sense of accomplishment, have fun, and to experience camaraderie with fellow participants. * It's not a race; it's a challenge.

Collaborating with innovation partners:

• In choosing partners, Tough Mudder asks themselves what competencies they are looking for and what the innovation partner will or can contribute. This may include knowledge of markets, technology expertise, contacts with key players in an industry, etc.  The big innovation partner for Tough Mudder is Under Armour.  UA sponsorship was huge and helped tremendously with increasing the quality of the Tough Mudder brand and reputation, in addition to increasing the amount of people who were exposed, aware, and interested in Tough Mudder. 

Organizational Structure

It seems that Tough Mudder encompasses a functional structure, meaning there are specialists and teams of people grouped internally:

• Events (planning, management)
• Obstacle construction
• Site search
• Marketing
• Strategy
• Legal
• Accounting
• HR
• Office Management

People in these teams work together in a rewarding, dynamic, and fun environment. The functional structure provides for a high level of centralization that helps to ensure integration and control over the primary activities in the value chain.  While some companies with a functional structure find differences in values and orientations among functional areas to impede communication and coordination, this doesn't seem to be the case at Tough Mudder; it seems that there are high amounts of interaction across all teams.

Zooming From Zero to $70 Million in 2 Years

www.inc.com/tim-donnelly/tough-mudder-conquering-obstacles-to-build-70-million-business.html

"Inspiration and a $20 Facebook ad grew into a $70 million company in just two years-- and that's without any venture capital to seed the venture." This article discusses the four ways Will Dean and Guy Livingstone conquered obstacles while growing a fast business:
1. Create a disruptive product
2. Develop an offline viral product
3. Partner with national brands
4. Create a sustainable corporate culture

One of my favorite parts of the article is when Livingstone says, "We're not trying to be the Marriott Hotel. We're not trying to be everything to everyone.  I think you either get it or you don't with our brand, and we're very, very proud of that."

Role of Coporate Governance

Since Tough Mudder is not a corporation, a lot of the information in Chapter 9 does not apply.  Instead, I will take this entry to introduce the top management team:

• Will Dean, CEO and Co-Founder, served five years in the British Special Forces before earning his MBA from Harvard Business School.  Out of frustration with unimaginative and repetitive marathons, triathlons, mud runs, and other adventure runs, he started Tough Mudder.  He found a missing market niche and capitalized on it.
• Guy Livingstone, COO and Co-Founder, takes care of the company's legal, financial, and event operation divisions.  He has a background in law and has traveled all over the world! *
• Jesse Bull, CFO
• Alex Patterson, CMO

 *  Tough Mudder employee bios are a must-read. Click here and check them out for yourself. Working at Tough Mudder is a lifestyle.

The Tough Mudder corporate culture is strong.  They have an excellent system of shared values, qualities and beliefs:

• High achievers 
• Intelligent
• Driven
• Sense of humor
• Passionate and enthusiastic about the Tough Mudder mission
• Committed to continuous growth and learning and challenging one another
• Work hard and play hard
• Socially responsible and giving back (Wounded Warrior Project!)
• Innovative
• Diverse backgrounds, ideas, and perspectives