It started with something that already existed.
In September 2026, Nike and Meron came together during the World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, transforming Meron Egyetem Tér into an exclusive Nike basecamp for athletes, creators and invited members of the running community.
When I came across the collaboration, I loved the idea behind it. But as I looked into it, one question popped into my head.
What about everyone else?
What about the people who run after a stressful day at work, the beginners trying to make running a habit or the people who simply enjoy being part of a running community?
The original activation was exclusive and that made sense for the championship, but I started wondering what it could look like if that experience was opened up to everyday runners in Budapest.
That question became the starting point for my mock PR campaign.
Finding my angle
I didn't want to create an entirely different campaign or change what Nike and Meron had already done.
I wanted to build on it.
I started looking into Budapest's running culture, local communities, running creators and how coffee shops fit into people's everyday routines.
People meet for coffee. People meet for runs. And sometimes, the best part of a run is what happens afterwards.
What if Meron became a place runners looked forward to returning to?
Not just for the coffee, but for the people, the conversations and the little memories they make along the way.
My idea was to turn a short-term, exclusive brand experience into a more accessible community-focused campaign built around three simple experiences:
RUN. Beginner-friendly weekly runs where nobody gets left behind.
RECHARGE. Coffee at Meron, where runners can relax, connect and build friendships.
REMEMBER. Shared moments, Polaroid photographs, personal milestones and stories that make people want to return.
All brought together by one message:
Come for the run. Stay for the people.
Bringing the idea to life
This was my favourite part: turning the ideas into an experience.
A Polaroid Wall filled with customised Nike × Meron Polaroids, adding their distance and next running goal before putting them on the Polaroid wall at Meron.Over time, the wall would become a collection of achievements, memories and reasons to come back.
That's one small part of it... The BIG idea I was most excited about was The Coffee Cup Run.
After eight weeks of building a community, runners would come together for one final experience: following a route through Budapest that draws the shape of a coffee cup on Strava.
A running route that becomes a story, a shared memory, and something everyone can be part of and post about.
Making creativity work strategically
Of course, a creative campaign needs more than good ideas.
I worked on the audience research, strategic direction, messaging, media angles, local creator involvement and measurement plan.
I wanted real runners to tell the story, rather than relying on brand advertising.
And I wanted to measure more than views and likes. Did people feel welcome? Did they come back? Were we actually building a community?
My takeaway
This project reminded me that creativity isn't always about inventing something completely new.
Sometimes, it's about looking at something that already exists and spotting an opportunity to take it further.
I also learned that not every idea I get excited about needs to make it into the campaign, which is sad because trust me, I had plenty.
The challenge was making sure every creative decision had a purpose.
What started with one question became an eight-week campaign concept built around people, connection and a coffee cup.
*An independent, speculative PR campaign developed as part of PR C.A.M.P. The concept builds on an existing Nike × Meron collaboration and was not commissioned or implemented by either brand.
