March saw Virgin Media pen a partnership with the British Paralympic Association (BPA) and immediately activate around the 2018 Winter Games through a multi-phase campaign that began with a research-led inspirational strand and then followed up with a ‘Gold Luck’ video.
The deal announcement was made just four days before the start of the 2018 Winter Parlaympic Games – which run from 9 to 18 March – and was promoted across both brand and rights-holder PR, digital and social channels.
We are ecstatic to announce our partnership with The British Paralympic Association! Best of luck to the @ParalympicsGB team at #PyeongChang2018 #BeFearless pic.twitter.com/iZvRzUTBry
— Virgin Media (@virginmedia) March 5, 2018
Together we hope to encourage the nation to take inspiration from our athletes and to #BeFearless in shifting attitudes towards disability in the UK.
Read @virginmedia CEO Tom Mockridge's blog on our new partnership
➡️ https://t.co/HM84P9LZCr pic.twitter.com/udqV2LlHqh
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) March 5, 2018
The first phase of the activation programme opened immediately on 5 March with work promoting primary research, carried out by Virgin Media, that found Paralympians were the most inspirational athletes for British children and young people.
Paralympians who topped a poll of the most inspirational athletes for children and young people (31%) – well ahead of footballers (9%) and rugby players (5%).
Virgin Media says that it’s work with the BPA aims to shift people’s perceptions of disability, and to encourage the whole nation to become braver – inspired by Paralympic athletes.
Indeed, the research shows that it is ‘fearless athletes’ who provide the most inspiration for what is largely a ‘risk-averse nation’.
The data shows that 60% of UK adults see themselves as being ‘risk-averse’, with more of 69% believing they are less likely to take risks than a decade ago: 66% say they do not take risks because they are worried about failing.
Yet, the statistics suggest there is a willingness to change: 66% acknowledged that taking risks can pay off and lead to success and more than half of those surveyed say they are pleased to have challenged themselves after taking a leap of faith.
The February research, which was conducted by Censuswide and included 2,026 16+ drawn from a random sample of UK adults, was promoted across Virgin Media’s digital and social platforms – including Twitter
Tuning in for the @Paralympics opening ceremony on Channel 4?
Our research shows our incredible Paralympians are the most fearless athletes. Agreed.
Read more here → https://t.co/jfm5GVwYMi #BeFearless pic.twitter.com/Tnwf3L3Dvn
— Virgin Media Corporate (@VirginMediaCorp) March 9, 2018
and Instagram.
This Paralympic research complements work that Virgin Media is already doing via its partnership with disability charity Scope.
In 2017 Virgin Media and Scope launched a new initiative, called ‘Work With Me, that aims to support one million disabled people to get into and stay in work by the end of 2020.
The second phase of Virgin Media’s Paralympic activation around PyeongChang followed two days later with a set of inspirational good luck family and friends message videos recorded and then shown to the Paralympians.
Again, this emotional activation strand, which was called ‘Gold Luck’, ran across both the brand and the rights-holders digital/social channels.
The messages were presented as a surprise to Team GB’s Paralympic heroes, as friends and family members, along with Sir Mo Farah and Richard Branson, wished athletes all the best for the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.
Six fearless @ParalympicsGB athletes. One big surprise. We delivered some encouraging messages to the team before they headed for #PyeongChang2018 #BeFearless pic.twitter.com/yo68NBpO8M
— Virgin Media (@virginmedia) March 7, 2018
| We set up a little surprise for some of our athletes with @virginmedia before they got on the plane to PyeongChang…
Stay tuned tomorrow for the full vid. And bring tissues. #BeFearless pic.twitter.com/5vPoLohORw
— ParalympicsGB (@ParalympicsGB) March 6, 2018
“With the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Paralympic Games just days away it is a wonderful boost to be able to announce this exciting new partnership with Virgin Media,” said BPA chief executive Tim Hollingsworth
“We know ParalympicsGB athletes are amongst the most inspirational and the most fearless figures in public life and their success can have a real impact by challenging perceptions of what disabled people can achieve.”
“This is a very proud moment for everyone at Virgin Media. We’re supporting our sensational Paralympians whose mindset and attitude – Be Fearless – is inspiring,” said Virgin Media CEO Tom Mockridge.
“We can’t wait to see our incredible athletes unleash their potential in PyeongChang.”
Comment:
Indeed, this focus on being ‘fearless’ is largely linked to leveraging Paralympics GB’s own campaign for PyeongChang which is called #BeFearless
The new tie-up sees the UK based communications and TV provider sponsor the BPA, as gold tier BPA partner alongside Adidas, Sainsburys and Toyota through to Tokyo 2020.
Links:
Virgin Media
https://www.youtube.com/user/virginmedia
https://www.facebook.com/virginmedia
https://twitter.com/virginmedia
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/paralympicsgb/
ParalympicsGB
https://twitter.com/ParalympicsGB
https://www.instagram.com/paralympicsgb_official/
https://www.facebook.com/ParalympicsGB
