WEB_SportEngland_AR_2016-17

Taking sport and activity into
the mass market
We want to make life easier for the millions of
people who are trying to be active but find that
the physical, social and emotional motivations
are just not enough or even relevant.
The market needs to create more practical
solutions specifically for them, and not just
support those with well-established habits.
This will be critical to increasing the number of
people who can enjoy the wider benefits of sport
and physical activity. Our focus in this area is
scale – we want ideas that will make a difference
to hundreds and thousands of people.
It is a big challenge and we have created a
new mass markets directorate to meet it, led by
Dave Newton, former chief executive of Nova
International, responsible for the Great North Run
and various other mass participation events.
Aiming to reach the mass market, the second
creative phase of our behaviour change
campaign, This Girl Can, launched in January
2017. Our Phenomenal Women TV ad and
billboards featured a range of new sports and
activities in our campaign, including rugby, roller
derby and mum/baby workout classes. It widened
its age range, targeting girls and women aged
from 14 to 60, and focused on building up a
sense of belonging that can help them manage
their fears and build up their resilience. It shows
that it’s normal for physical activity routines to get
disrupted by everyday influences like bad weather
or working late.
The new film was watched more than 1 million
times on Facebook within four hours of launch
and had been watched 6.3 million times online
by 31 March 2017, while our This Girl Can
community on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
grew by 16%.
There are over 10,000 registered supporters who
are supporting and helping to run the campaign
locally and we are working closely with the core
cities and selected county sports partnerships to
produce specific This Girl Can activities. We are
now searching for commercial partners who can
develop the campaign, without compromising
its integrity.
Most importantly, the campaign continues
to deliver results. Our tracking survey, measured
by Kantar Public, shows that 43% of women
aged 14-60 are aware of This Girl Can, as high
as it was in 2015 after both bursts of TV and
billboard advertising. While 35% of women who
recognised at least one of the ads said they did
some or more sport as a result.
Newcastle celebrated the
latest phase of This Girl Can
with a 5km evening run in
March 2017. Over 500 women
took part and their details
were captured for follow-up
activity marketing.