I wrote a previous post post about Pearl Izumi and their “We Are Not Joggers” ad campaign. Recently, I was doing some reading and was reminded of Pareto and the 80/20 rule. The Pareto Principle simply states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Vilfredo Pareto was an Italian Economist and a leader of microeconomics.

When Pearl Izumi launched their “We Are Not Joggers” Ad Campaign the folks on the RunnersWorld forums were outraged. I’d say 80% of the post were negative. Slower runners/joggers felt that Pearl Izumi was slapping them in the face and no longer wanted their business. Maybe, just maybe, Pearl Izumi does not care about the slower runner and the recreational crowd. But why?

Let’s go back to the Pareto Principle. My assumption is that Pearl Izumi realizes that hardcore runners/triathletes are their bread and butter. Thus, the hardcore athlete is 20% of their clientele but 80% of their revenue. Knowing this, Pearl Izumi adopts the “We Are Not Joggers” ad campaign. They realize that it may offend many of their clientele (80%+) but that clientele represent only <20% of their sales. Thus, they want to focus on their core clintele and push that 20% to buy even more Pearl Izumi products.

The other strategy is that you don't want to waste your time with that 80%, because these are the people who provide you with the biggest headaches. Often times these are the shoppers who come into your store, waste an hour of your time and walk out buying nothing. Or it's the guy who goes into the local running store and tries on ten pairs of shoes and then leaves to purchase those shoes online.

So, if you wanted to know why Pearl Izumi would use such a touchy ad and perhaps offend the Oprah Marathon crowd, you now know why. A little lesson in Running Economics 101.