Sogo Active: How Sponsorship is Helping Canadian Youth Get Active - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Sogo Active: How Sponsorship is Helping Canadian Youth Get Active

Kelly Murumets, President & CEO

• 90% of children are not meeting the

recommended daily physical activity guideline set by Canada’s Physical Activity Guides for Children and Youth

• Physical activity levels fall short of the

requirements for healthy development and growth

• Children, including preschool

aged children, are spending too much time in front of screens

• Following the release of the 2007 Health

Committee report on childhood obesity, the former Chair, the Honourable Rob Merrifield, M.P. commented, “For the first time in recorded history, our younger generations are expected to live shorter lives than their parents due to obesity.”

Canadian kids are facing an inactivity crisis!

• As kids reach their teens, physical activity

levels drastically decline. Teenage girls are at greatest risk.

• Sport participation in 15-18 year-olds

declined from 77% to 59% between 1992 and 2005.

• The physical activity guide for youth

recommends that youth (ages 10-14), independent of their current physical activity level, increase the time they currently spend on physical activity by 30 min/day, and progress over approximately 5 months to greater than

• r equal to 90 min/day.
• Barriers to physical activity for youth

include costs, motivation, social support, and supportive environments.

More than ever, we need to inspire

• ur youth to be more active.

ParticipACTION has a 30-year history

• f moving Canadians.
• To Canadians, ParticipACTION is the galvanizing force

that moves you to move more everyday.

ParticipACTION has a 30-year history

• f moving Canadians.
• To Canadians, ParticipACTION is the galvanizing force

that moves you to move more everyday.

Our vision is a Canadian society where people are the most physically active on earth.

Our Mandate:

• ParticipACTION is the national voice of physical activity

and sport participation in Canada.

• Through leadership in communications, capacity building

and knowledge exchange, we will inspire and support Canadians to move more.

VISION

COMMUNICATIONS Deliver messages through multimedia for the purpose of raising awareness, educating and inspiring behavior change. Coordinate communications to ensure consistent, unified messaging across/within sector. CAPACITY BUILDING Facilitate capacity building through leveraging of assets within the sector. Support/manage development and /or implementation of programs, but do not deliver the program itself. KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE Gather, translate, and disseminate information, data and research. LEADERSHIP Marshal resources and facilitate collaborative partnerships in order to achieve the collective vision. Influence, support, promote for sustainable change.

Our Strategic Areas of Focus

By building partnerships, ParticipACTION will be able to address the inactivity crisis more effectively.

Inactivity Crisis

Not-For-Profit Partners Public Partners Private Partners Canadians

ParticipACTION will partner with organizations committed to the advancement of physical activity and sport participation.

Our Sponsorship Policy:

• We will accept sponsorship from companies/organizations that have

demonstrated a commitment to promoting physical activity that leads to a better lifestyle

• We will not accept sponsorships from:

– Manufacturers of tobacco or alcohol – Religious organizations – Political parties

• We will support sponsors’ needs by offering our brand,

content/knowledge expertise and management of capacity-building programs

• We can provide national reach through ParticipACTION’s Partner

Network and provincial/territorial partners

Finding a sponsorship fit that addresses the youth inactivity crisis.

In developing the concept, ParticipACTION and Coca-Cola Canada went through a rigorous process.

What is Sogo Active?

• $5 million dollar initiative over 5 years
• Targets 13-19 year-olds in response to inactivity crisis
• Gives young Canadians the tools to design, change and control their
• wn individual get active plan
• Lives on an online platform that youth prefer. By logging on to

www.sogoactive.com, youth can find places and resources to get active, and inspire their peers to do the same

• By participating, youth become eligible to be selected by Coca-Cola for

Torchbearer spots on the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay

• Over 1,000 participants will be selected by Coca-Cola to carry the

Olympic Flame in the Vancouver 2010 Torch Relay

Introducing the “the sickest way to live healthy” – sogoactive.com – the Facebook of physical activity!

A Model to Reach and Get Youth Active

Provincial/ Territorial Coordinators (PTCs) Community Hosts Canadia n Youth Coca-Cola Canada

We will work with PTC partners across the country to ensure the program has regional and local relevance.

• BC Recreation and Parks Association
• Alberta Parks and Recreation Association
• Saskatchewan Parks and Recreation Association
• Recreation Connections Manitoba
• Motivate Canada
• Association québecoise du loisir municipal
• Recreation New Brunswick
• Recreation Nova Scotia and Sport Nova Scotia
• PEI Recreation and Facilities Association
• Recreation Newfoundland and Labrador
• Recreation and Parks Association of the Yukon
• Sport North
• Kunoki

In turn, PTC partners will use their network to recruit Community Hosts who can promote the program and support youth.

• Community Hosts range from traditional sport and recreation
• rganizations (i.e. YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs) to non-traditional

groups, such as faith and cultural organizations, youth engagement

• rganizations, environmental organizations, Girl Guides, 4H Clubs, etc.
• Community Hosts will address barriers to physical activity by helping youth

access resources to be active (i.e. facilities, equipment, instructors, mentoring / expertise), match youth with Sogo Active groups for social support, help youth apply for micro grants, and provide other support as needed.

• National organizations will also be invited to recruit their member
• rganizations or chapters across the country to join the program and be

part of the solution.

Coca-Cola Canada will apply their marketing expertise and leverage their assets, including their Olympic sponsorship, to attract youth to the Sogo Active program.

1. Creation of the Sogo Active brand 2. Advertising at Cineplex Odeon locations nationwide 3. iCoke presence and communications to membership database 4. Online advertising 5. Promotional items 6. Torch Exhibition Tour across the country

Coca-Cola Canada will apply their marketing expertise and leverage their assets, including their Olympic sponsorship, to attract youth to the Sogo Active program.

1. Creation of the Sogo Active brand 2. Advertising at Cineplex Odeon locations nationwide 3. iCoke presence and communications to membership database 4. Online advertising 5. Promotional items 6. Torch Exhibition Tour across the country

To ensure consistent messaging and promotion of Sogo Active from the various channels, standard tools and guidelines were developed.

• Communications Toolkit:
• Key Messages, Q&A and Backgrounder
• Media Protocol
• Press Release Templates
• Matte Stories
• Branded stationery
• Presentation with speaking notes
• Marketing/Recruitment Toolkit:
• Brand Style Guidelines
• Approved creative
• Online banner ads and e-blast
• Print ads, pamphlets, postcards and posters
• Promotional items

• # of youth registrations (by province)
• # of host organizations (by province)
• # of youth groups receiving funding
• % of youth reporting an increase in physical

activity

• Average increase in physical activity

As of today, Sogo Active has over 1000 youth participants and 400 Community Hosts registered in the program.

Since the launch of the website in December, we have been collecting data and measuring participation rates.

Challenges

• Many stakeholders
• Lack of acceptance of Coca-Cola as a worthy partner in the active

living sector

• Coca-Cola is a large organization with its commensurate bureaucratic

processes

• VANOC and ICO impose many rules and regulations which slow

decision-making processes

• Coca-Cola Canada hired a new president and implemented an
• rganization-wide restructuring during the project’s development and

implementation

• ParticipACTION is establishing its partner network concurrent with

implementing Sogo Active

What can we learn from this partnership?

Success Factors

• Partners are committed to the program objective of getting youth active
• Partners are committed to equally contributing to the venture and will

equally benefit from the venture

• Partners have made significant investment to the program:

– Coca-Cola has made a long-term, monetary investment to the program – ParticipACTION has invested its brand and reputation

• Partners bring respective strengths and assets to the initiative

– Coca-Cola’s marketing genius and youth expertise – ParticipACTION’s network of provincial, territorial and grassroots organizations

• Magic of Olympics

What can we learn from this partnership?

Recommendations

• Execute a sound, responsible contract with objectives identified
• Establish a joint implementation team
• Involve stakeholders early in the process to gain commitment to

program concept and deliverables

• Facilitate third party partnerships by implementing regular

communications and providing adequate tools to support their role

• Celebrate successes

What can we learn from this partnership?

By working together, through strategic partnerships, we can realize a healthier and more active Canada. Together, we can change the world!

Thank You!