Istrski Kolesarski Maraton: From Digital Campaign to 1,200+ Cyclists on the Road
The Challenge
Istrski kolesarski maraton needed to fill their 2025 event in Koper with cyclists. They had great routes through Slovenian Istria, but needed a digital campaign that would actually get people to register—not just scroll past pretty photos of coastal roads.
The brief was straightforward: drive registrations, build buzz, and cover the event itself with real-time content that would keep the momentum going for future years.
Our Approach
We built a 65-day integrated campaign (August 25 - October 28, 2025) that combined paid social, organic content, and on-the-ground event coverage. This wasn't just about running Facebook ads—we were building a complete content ecosystem.
The Digital Campaign
We kicked off two months before the event with targeted Facebook and Instagram campaigns. The strategy was simple: reach recreational cyclists in Slovenia and neighboring countries with content that made them want to be part of something.
Facebook Performance:
Reached 743,530 people across the campaign
1.17% click-through rate—30% higher than the 0.90% industry benchmark
Peak day October 1st: 38,329 reach with 51,941 impressions
Drove 10,395 link clicks to the registration page
The ads worked because we weren't selling—we were inviting people into an experience. The CTR numbers prove it: when you're 30% above industry standard, you're doing something right.
Instagram Growth:
Impressions exploded from 16 per day to 39,794 at peak
That's 1,837% growth over the campaign period
October 12th (event day) hit the highest engagement
We knew Instagram would be key for the younger cycling crowd (25-44 years), so we optimized everything for Reels and Stories. The growth curve shows it worked—people weren't just seeing the content, they were engaging with it.
The Demographics
The campaign hit exactly who we wanted:
96.2% of reach was in Slovenia (Facebook), with solid secondary reach in Italy (2.4%) and Croatia (1.6%)
55% male, 45% female on Facebook
Core age group: 35-54 years (59% of total audience)
Top cities: Ljubljana (13.4%), Koper (9.7%), Maribor (3.4%)
These weren't random impressions—we were reaching active, cycling-age adults in the exact regions that would actually show up.
Event Coverage & Real-Time Content
Here's what separated this from a typical digital campaign: we didn't just advertise the event, we covered it.
On October 11-12, our team was on the ground in Koper shooting photo, video, and pushing real-time Stories as the event unfolded. Cyclists crossing finish lines, crowd shots, behind-the-scenes with organizers—all of it going live on Instagram and Facebook while the event was still happening.
This did two things:
Created FOMO for people watching from home (hello, 2026 registrations)
Gave participants shareable content they could post themselves
The real-time content generation turned the event into a continuous content loop that extended the campaign's life well beyond race day.
Website Traffic
Google Analytics showed the direct impact:
14,781 active users visited the registration site during the campaign
Average 227 visitors per day
Peak traffic October 12th: 2,591 visits (race day momentum)
Lowest point October 28th: 23 visits (post-event cooldown)
The traffic curve followed our campaign intensity perfectly—proof that the paid social was doing its job.
The Results
1,200+ cyclists registered and showed up. That's the number that matters.
Everything else—the 743K reach, the 1.17% CTR, the 1,837% Instagram growth—those are the mechanics of how we got there. But the actual outcome was filling the event with participants.
Campaign Performance Snapshot:
743,530 Facebook reach across 65 days
888,795 total impressions
185,495 Instagram impressions
14,781 website visits driven by campaign
1.17% CTR (30% above industry benchmark)
Peak day: 2,591 website visits on October 12th
What Worked:
Timing: Starting 65 days out gave us enough runway to build momentum without burning out the audience
Targeting: Focusing on Slovenian cyclists 35-54 years old in Ljubljana, Koper, and Maribor—exactly the demographic that registers for these events
Content mix: Combining paid ads with organic storytelling kept the feed feeling authentic, not just promotional
Event activation: Real-time coverage during the event created shareable moments that extended campaign value
What We Delivered
Complete 65-day digital campaign (Facebook + Instagram)
Event day photography and videography coverage
Real-time social media content (Stories, Reels, posts)
14,781 website visits
1,200+ event registrations
Full campaign analytics and reporting
This wasn't just a social media campaign—it was an integrated effort that combined digital strategy, paid media, and on-ground content creation to deliver actual participants to the start line.
