Forty 30x30 STORM Energy stencils went down across Chicago the evening before marathon weekend: three at the brand's Outpost on N Wells St and 37 along the race route.
How it happened, phase by phase.
Phase 01
STORM Energy wanted to own Chicago Marathon weekend at street level. The job came through their agency, Tailwind, with race day set for Sunday, October 11.
Two targets: the STORM Outpost at Layla & Ringo's, 914 N Wells St, and the marathon route itself, where runners and the crowds watching them would be.
Phase 02
Three stencils went directly in front of the Outpost. The other 37 ran along the sidewalks and streets of the marathon route, split across 13 zones.
About half went on the road, where the runners run. The other half went on the sidewalks, where the crowds stand and watch. The photo geotags put the spread at roughly 8.4 miles north to south, from Lakeview down to Bronzeville, with hits in Lincoln Park, the Loop, Grant Park, the West Loop, the South Loop, Chinatown and Pilsen along the way.
Phase 03
One design: the STORM bolt over the STORM wordmark and the line Energy For Life, cut at 30x30 inches.
Two colors. The crew sprayed black or white at each spot depending on how light or dark the concrete was, so the mark always read clean. Black on pale sidewalk, white on dark asphalt.
Phase 04
Our own crew ran the whole thing in one evening, Thursday, October 8, so every stencil was waiting for the morning runners and spectators.
Forty stencils, one design, two colors, chosen spot by spot. By the crew's own count the night covered about 40 miles of route from the first stencil to the last; the photo GPS puts the farthest two about 8.4 miles apart.
Phase 05
Every stencil got three photos: a top down shot, a runner's view and a wide context shot. All of them are geotagged and time stamped.
The photos and a campaign report went to the agency after the install.
Every dot is a spot the crew photographed, across these areas:
The client
STORM is a zero-sugar wellness energy drink that launched nationwide in May 2026 under the line "Energy for Life".
stormbev.com/en-usAgency
The route stencils met runners on the road and spectators on the curb, and three more sat on the sidewalk at the brand's own door on N Wells St.
Picking black or white at every stop kept the bolt sharp on every surface the route threw at us.
Tap what fits, add a city, send. Ranges are fine; we firm it up together.