Race marketing built by people who run events
Barefoot Marketing grows entries for Australian and New Zealand events, run by marketers who live in registration and timing every day. Campaigns built to fill start lines, reported in entries rather than impressions.
Recognised bodies the technology has supported
Barefoot Registration is race registration software for Australian and New Zealand organisers.
It takes entries, payments, categories, teams, merchandise and waivers in one system, with timing built in, so a volunteer can run it and a growing series can scale on it.
Built by event organisers.
Trusted by race directors.
450+
Events delivered every year across Australia and New Zealand
50,000
Participants supported at a single event
75+
years
Combined event experience
2
countries
Australian and New Zealand owned, operated and on the ground
Pillar
Outcome-led copy direction
Most agencies market your event from the outside. They can see clicks, impressions and spend. They cannot see who entered, when they entered, or whether they had entered before.
Barefoot Marketing works from inside registration and timing. That lets us answer the questions a generalist agency can’t: which weeks your entries actually land, how far your field travels to get to you, what a price rise does to the curve, and how many of last year’s entrants came back.
It changes where the money goes. Rather than spreading a budget evenly across a season, we weight it to the weeks your entries have always arrived, and target the people most likely to enter instead of the people most likely to click.
It changes what you get back, too. Every report ties to entries and entry revenue, because we are reading from the same system your entrants come through.
Who it’s for?
Barefoot Marketing works with organisers across Australia and New Zealand, from a single community fun run to a whole season of events.
Hybrid fitness operators
Hyrox-style, functional-fitness and obstacle events, in the fastest-growing category on the calendar and the one no registration platform markets to.
Road and community events
5km to marathon, fun runs and charity events competing for a local field against everything else on that weekend.
Trail, off-road and ultra events
A specific, findable audience that is worth reaching properly rather than broadly.
Triathlon and multisport events
Multi-discipline fields with clear club and training-group networks behind them.
If entries are flat and you are not sure why, that is the conversation to start with.
How we work
Marketing an event is not a campaign, it is a season. Entries follow your calendar, and the work with the most leverage happens before registration even opens. So we work in season-length engagements rather than one-off bursts.
Start with your numbers. We look at last season’s entries, your return rate, your entry curve and where your field came from. You get that picture whether or not you go ahead.
Build the plan. Registration opening date, pricing tiers and deadlines, then the channels and creative to support them. Costed, with an entry target attached.
Run the season. We run the campaigns, write the emails and manage the spend, adjusting as entries come in rather than at the end.
Review and set up the next edition. What worked, what it cost per entry, and what to change next season.
Ready to Elevate
Your Event?
Let's connect and see how Barefoot Sport simplifies registrations and maximises participant experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to use Barefoot Registration to use Barefoot Marketing?
No, but it works considerably better if you do. When entries run through Barefoot, campaigns are built from your real entry data and reported straight back against entries.
What will it cost?
It depends on your event size, discipline and how much of the season you want covered. Tell us your event and next date and we will come back with a figure, not a range.
How is this different from a normal digital agency?
Our marketers live in registration and timing every day. They know when entries land, how price increases move the curve, and they report in entrants rather than impressions.
How far out should we start?
Earlier than most organisers think. The highest-value work happens before registration opens, setting pricing tiers and warming up last year’s field.
Can you help a small community event, or is this only for big races?
Both. A local fun run and a 50,000-person city race need different budgets, not different thinking. We will tell you honestly if marketing is not your bottleneck.
What do you actually report back?
Entries by campaign, cost per entry, entry revenue, returning versus new entrants, and your entry curve against last edition. No impressions-only reporting.
Why are my race entries down this year?
Falling entries usually come from one of four causes, and it is worth checking them in order. Retention — how many of last year’s field came back. Timing — whether registration opened at the same point in the calendar as previous years. Pricing structure — whether there is any deadline creating urgency. And local competition — whether a similar event has appeared on or near your date. Effort on social media is rarely the actual constraint.
When should a race open registration?
For most community and road events, six to nine months out, with an early-bird tier that closes on a fixed date. Trail, ultra and destination events often need longer because participants book travel and accommodation. The date matters less than the structure: entries cluster around deadlines, so an opening with no scheduled price increase behind it tends to produce a long flat period followed by a late rush.
How do you get past participants to come back?
Start before registration opens rather than after. Contact last year’s field directly with a returning-participant window or price before general entries open, so the offer feels like recognition rather than a discount. Retention is generally the cheapest growth available to an event, because those runners already know the course, the date and the experience — but most organisers have never measured what their return rate actually is.
Do registration platforms handle marketing for you?
Most provide tools rather than a service. Typical inclusions are event pages, automated email, referral and ambassador features, discount codes and campaign tracking. The tools are useful, but somebody still has to plan the campaign, write it, spend the budget and read the results. Check what is included, what is charged separately, and whether anyone actually runs it on your behalf.
How much should I spend marketing a race?
There is no reliable industry percentage, so work backwards from cost per entry instead. Take your entry fee, decide what you can afford to pay to acquire one entrant while still covering event costs, and set the budget from your entry target. Track cost per entry from the first campaign, because it tells you whether to keep spending far faster than reach or engagement will.
Let’s make your next event your easiest yet.
Work with people who get the pace, pressure, and precision of endurance events and build platforms that match it.