Special Olympics Belgium
Client: Special Olympics Belgium
Product: Sponsorships
Title: Dare to sponsor
Media: integrated: Online film, OOH, Direct mailing, social media & influencers, targeted bannering
Country: Belgium
Date Of Campaign: 26/03/2018
Background: Special Olympics is an organisation that provides sports training and competition for people with intellectual disabilities. Since they don’t get governmental support and don’t work with membership fees, they needed to find private partners for extra sponsorships.
Idea: Athletes work hard. Every single day, they suffer and go all the way to get the best out of themselves. And that's no different for athletes with an intellectual disability. Yet, they never get a big sponsorship deal.With #Daretosponsor we presented our athletes not as a good cause, but as a good investment. Because they don't mind holding your product, running in your shoes or featuring on a can. We copied all clichés in an online film. And targeted big brands through famous athletes. Creating a social dialogue between athletes, brands and Special Olympics. Next to a film on social media and extensive PR. We put a billboard in front of Procter & Gamble's headquarters. Placed banners on marketing websites. And sent a follow up direct mail, containing a can featuring one of our athletes. Influencer athletes supported the campaign on social media, encouraging companies to accept the challenge. Creating a stage for brands to participate in our campaign.
Results: We convinced 12 major brands to start a new partnership with Special Olympics. Including Procter & Gamble, Coca Cola (Aquarius), BNP Paribas, Mylène, Red Bull, Telenet, McCain, Johnson & Johnson and Nestlé. Special Olympics received a sponsoring budget of over 1 million euro. With a cost of €80K, that means we had a return on investment of about 12.5 times the campaign budget. Next, we had a total reach of over 23,4 million views in PR and an earned media value of more than 1.086.000 euros. But most importantly, we enabled over 5000 athletes to get training resources for a year. And today still, we are talking with new potential partners. Because every athlete deserves a top sponsor.
