We Are Undefeatable
The Challenge
Around 1 in 4 people in England live with a long term health condition, encompassing everything from diabetes to cancer to depression. And around 69% of them would like to be more active. The trouble is that exercise doesn’t seem like it’s for them.
That’s because the one thing that unites these 15 million people, whose experiences otherwise vary, is the unpredictability of how their conditions affect them. Some days they can move how they please, and some days they can’t do anything at all.
The world of sports marketing, with all of its drive and ambition, was doing worse than not appealing to our audience; in many cases, it was insulting them and driving them away. When you literally can’t get out of bed for reasons outside of your control, “Just Do It” really doesn’t do it.
In the wake of this, we were tasked with creating a campaign that would speak to this incredibly diverse audience, encouraging them to get moving in ways that are realistic and work for their conditions.
The Approach
We created “We Are Undefeatable,” the first condition-agnostic campaign backed by 15 of the UK’s leading social charities. It embraces the ups and downs in equal measure, and supporting people in moving more, whatever that looks like for them.
The campaign was designed to create a fundamental shift in category communications, acknowledging our audience’s diversity of experience and often invisible symptoms. It expands what being active looks like far outside traditional sport. It’s also honest and human, tackling difficult moments without an ounce of self-pity – a huge departure from how our audience is typically represented.
We knew a TV spot wasn’t going to be enough to change people’s behaviour. We needed to be everywhere our audience were. So we made over 475 bespoke assets for every channel our audiences are on, including fourteen Mini-Documentaries and placements in over 7000 Doctor’s Offices in England.
We also developed an entire ecosystem of information tailored to meet our audience’s needs, from pharmacy takeaway items to a website with links to resources and charity support. We also worked with academics across the UK to develop a behaviour change tool specifically designed to accommodate our audience’s unpredictability. Developed to be the “anti-couch to 5k”, the condition-agnostic model helps people reframe what they think of as being activity and appreciate even “little” achievements.
Screenshots showing the way we've presented and written content to be approachable, relatable, and accessible. For the full experience, visit WeAreUndefeatable.co.uk
The Results
The campaign launched at the end of August 2019. Within the first week, over 12 million people across England had seen the campaign, and 44% of people who’ve seen the campaign have taken action because of it. That means 1 in 8 people with long term conditions became active as a result of the first wave of our campaign. Bring on year two!
