2016 winner: Sport England, Not for Profit - case study

Sport England has been concerned about the gender gap in sport for some time and is committed to closing it. Having driven some improvement in the supply side, they knew that to tackle the issue, something dramatically different would be required – something that addressed the demand side and talked directly to women.

The resulting creative was ‘This Girl Can’, a celebration of the triumph of attitude over society’s judgement. Sport England championed active women across England who were doing their thing no matter how they do it or how they look.

The results
The core film has racked up over 57.1 million views and 806,400 shares. Starting from scratch in October 2014, they now  have 327,000 fans on Facebook, 86,300 on Twitter and 81,000 on Pinterest. Campaign mentions have reached 690,000 and incredibly, women were sharing the outdoor executions and cinema ad, turning paid-for media into earned media.

Olympians, Paralympians, politicians from across the House, leading feminists and fellow brands have shown support for the campaign. However it is our audience who have fully embraced the campaign as their own.

Changing the future
The Government and media industry are changing the way they talk to, and about, women. But most importantly, This Girl Can is changing behaviour.

Whilst their initial aim was simple - to get more women aged 14-40 to exercise regularly, by uncovering a powerful insight, challenging the status quo and being creatively brave, Sport England got women up and down the country inspired and exercising on an unprecedented level.

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