Strategy That Gets People Moving
We help endurance events, active brands, and community-driven organizations clarify their positioning, strengthen their marketing systems, and create sustainable growth.
You do not need the largest team or budget to earn attention, build loyalty, and drive meaningful growth. You need a clear position, a smart strategy, and the ability to turn good ideas into action.
Active Brand partners with businesses, events, and community-driven organizations that want to compete on more than spending power. As a small, senior-led team, we span strategy and execution, connect work that often happens in separate silos, and tailor our support to your organization’s needs.
Our sweet spot is helping independent and midsize brands turn their proximity to their customers, communities, and purpose into a genuine competitive advantage.
Built for Brands Ready to Compete
How We Help
Brand Strategy and Business Development
Clarify what sets your organization apart and where it can go next. We help sharpen your positioning, identify growth opportunities, develop new offerings and partnerships, and turn ambitious ideas into focused, actionable plans.
Marketing and Communications
Build a coordinated marketing system that gives the right people a reason to notice, participate, purchase, and return. We connect strategy to execution across email, social media, websites, content, campaigns, and paid advertising.
Events, Operations, and Community
Create experiences and relationships that deliver on what your marketing promises. From race and event strategy to partnerships, volunteers, ambassadors, participant experience, and community engagement, we help build the systems that turn audiences into advocates.
A Founder-Led Agency With a Wider View
Since 2005, Active Brand founder Mary Arnold has helped brands, events, and community-driven organizations navigate growth, change, and new opportunities.
Her perspective has been shaped by work across brand strategy, marketing and communications, business development, events, race operations, partnerships, and community engagement—from inside established companies and growing organizations to alongside founders and leadership teams.
That breadth enables Active Brand to see how the pieces connect, identify what is holding progress back, and focus your time and resources on the work most likely to create an advantage.
Selected Clients and Collaborators
HOKA · Salomon · Oiselle · Brooks · Arc’teryx · TransRockies Events · UCAN · Raw Endurance National Down Syndrome Society · Project Purple · Colon Cancer Foundation · Hillary Allen · Long Run Physio · Miwok 100K · Viva Wellness · Finish Line Physical Therapy
Strategy Built Around Meaningful Growth
From strengthening brand positioning and opening new paths to revenue to building campaigns, events, and community-powered initiatives that have reached tens of thousands of people, our work begins with the same question:
What does meaningful growth look like for this organization—and what will it take to get there?
“Mary quickly understood our clinic philosophy and what we needed to do to amplify our presence in the running community. In her delivery, she strengthened our brand while helping us develop a clear vision for the clinic’s growth from a marketing and business perspective. Mary can solve anything, and her solutions are full of creativity. She was a pleasure to work with and will always be part of our #FinishLineFam.”
-Michael Conlon, Finish Line Physical Therapy
“I worked with Active Brand Consulting to help organize and execute my unconVANtional book tour. As a first-time author publishing a book during a pandemic, I reached out to Active Brand Consulting to find a creative way to publicize my book while engaging the community through bookstore events, races, and virtual and in-person gatherings. As a professional runner, my schedule can be a moving target; Active Brand Consulting provided a flexible yet robust event schedule that let me maximize time to publicize my book while still making time to train, race, and have fun along the way. My book tour was a success, measured in increased sales, social media following, and engagement, and the momentum continues post-tour, with invitations to engage in other community events, virtually and in person. I would highly recommend Active Brand Consulting.”
-Hilary Allen, Author and Professional Runner
What Our Clients Are Saying
Let’s Build What Comes Next
You have ideas about where your organization could go. We can help identify the right priorities, build a practical plan, and provide the strategic support to carry it forward.
Let’s talk about what comes next—and what it will take to make it happen.