Background
With more than 5,600 affiliated stores in 44 countries, INTERSPORT is the world’s leading sporting goods retailer. In Bulgaria the retail chain has 9 stores in 5 cities, as well as an e-shop.
Seeking leadership far beyond retail INTERSPORT launched its #WOMANISM campaign aimed at the empowerment of women via sport and physical activity.
Based on a digital platform and rooted in cause marketing, the campaign was devised to inspire, train and motivate women and thus make them able to embrace their fears, overcome obstacles, build their confidence that comes with trueness and originality. It reminded them that they own their bodies, choices, time, health, their everything. It educated them on the importance of a healthy body and gives them the right reasons to train: sports as an antidote to stress, prevention of illnesses, an antidote for society’s obsession with body perfection.
The campaign was conceived as a global one, however with a strictly specific profile in every other country where INTERSPORT operates and this is where we factored in.
Insight: capturing global trends
Right now and without delay, women need and deserve a new status – one of champions on the racing track of life.
Target audience to empower
WOMANISM targeted Bulgarian women in an active age (aged 20-40) who need to rethink their place in private and social life by redefining their priorities and giving more time to their health and wellbeing.
Partners are essential
Through #WOMANISM INTERSPORT supported the Bulgarian Medical Society for Osteoporosis and Osteoarthrosis, by providing 100 free tests for bone density measurement. Osteoporosis is a disorder directly linked to female health and can be prevented with physical exercise.
A rather womanly implementation
Key vehicles to reach the target included digital (website, influencer marketing) and PR.
The heart of the campaign was the digital platform #womanism, a source of publicity to the true women’s stories – all of them inspirational and coming along with strong reference points on the path of every woman who tries to balance between her different roles, between logic and the heart; who has the will to reject limitations, find in herself the strength, not the weakness and follow her own style.
Opening, April 2019
The campaign opened with a press-release action.
Content & ambassadors
WOMANISM featured the 6 main pillars of feminine power: Own Your Time, Your Own Choices, Your Own Style, Your Own Confidence, Your Own Health, Your Own Body.
Each one of them was embodied in the personal stories of a remarkable woman able to lead others. The 6 women-ambassadors of INTERSPORT #WOMANISM included:
- OWN YOUR TIME, Emilia Zankina, academic: “No woman should choose between career and family, between passion and pragmatic choice. I can be many things. You ca too!”
- OWN YOUR CHOICES, Gerry Turiyska, writer: “There is nothing like mistakes. Everything is just trying, and we should love our choices, because – the worst outcome is nothing more than a failure. Big deal!”
- OWN YOUR STYLE, Santra, influencer: “I have a question. Whose voice should we listen to and who is the one that is the loudest?”
- OWN YOUR CONFIDENCE, Yana Marinova, actress: “Following these dreams which in childhood give you the confidence that you can achieve absolutely anything when you grow up. So, mind you, Own your confidence! You know, don’t you? The real confidence is the one inside – here and here.“
- OWN YOUR HEALTH, Bilyana Savova health influencer: “I want to live in a world with healthy and thinking people. Active, smiling, satisfied, who like themselves, and good-hearted, whenever it is possible, and it is always possible!”
- OWN YOUR BODY, Antoaneta Pepe lifestyle influencer: “The body is the external aspect of the soul, and the soul is the internal aspect of the body. Whatever happens to the soul impacts the body and vice-versa.”
A video manifesto and video stories of ambassadors were distributed on the campaign’s own website, as well as on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
Cause marketing & campaign challenge
Central to #WOMANISM was its support for the Bulgarian Medical Society for Osteoporosis and Osteoarthrosis.
Relating to the noble cause for women’s health we challenged women from the wider public to promote the cause by taking part in the #WOMANISM Challenge: by sharing on their accounts in Instagram a photo of the woman whom they admire, with the hashtag #WOMANISM, and by urging their friends to join the challenge and the movement INTERSPORT #WOMANISM!
When 500 #WOMANISM postings were reached INTERSPORT supported the Bulgarian Medical Society for Osteoporosis and Osteoarthrosis providing 100 free tests for bone density measurement. Many women suffer the gruesome effects of this disease, and early diagnosis is essential, as well as physical activity – as a key factor of prevention.
Results
The inspirational videos of female influencers in a range of fields resonated strongly with female audiences.
On Instagram there were more than 500 postings in the #WOMANISM challenge as women shared photos of women they admire.
Within the group of active participants in the challenge INTERSPORT donated 100 free tests for bone density measurement to benefit women’s health and physical activity.
Other results:
- YouTube: 575,000 views of #WOMANISM videos
- Instagram: 600,000 impressions
- Facebook: 800,000 impressions