London Sport and Three White Hats Help Londoners from all Backgrounds Get More Active with Couch to 5K

A new social campaign has launched, in London, with the aim of addressing the levels of post-covid physical activity amongst Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and lower socio-economic groups (LSEG). 

Data from Sport England shows that BAME and LSEG communities have seen activity levels disproportionately affected by the covid-19 outbreak and lockdown restrictions introduced through March, April and May.

At the lowest point in late April, just 27% of adults from lower socio-economic backgrounds were meeting recommended levels of regular physical activity. While between 3rd April and 11th May, less than a quarter of adults that identify as Black were meeting recommended activity levels.

These inequalities have been thrown into sharp relief by the impacts of covid-19 but they are not new.

Data from the last Active Lives survey released shortly before lockdown took effect, showed that people from LSEG are substantially less likely to be physically active than those from higher socio-economic groups, while both Black and Asian adults are less likely to be active than white adults.

London Sport, commissioned by Sport England, are launching a new campaign to encourage and inspire these groups to get more active through the free to download and easy to use ‘Couch to 5k’ running app.  

AMV BBDO were commissioned to develop inclusive content that shows just how easy it is to start the journey to becoming more active. In partnership with Three White Hats, the team used a detailed targeting approach to reach BAME and LSEG audiences throughout London. 

Marina Glavan, social strategist at AMV BBDO said: “People associate 'being active' with regular visits to the gym or playing sports, when in reality, a simple brisk walk can give you amazing health benefits such as stress relief, higher energy, mental clarity and much more. Our campaign aims to show just how easy it is to get started, at a time when our routines and activity levels are so impacted by the covid-19 pandemic.”

Alex Robinson, head of marketing at Sport London said: “We are proud and excited to have been commissioned by Sport England to help address the significant inequalities that exist around physical activity. Recent events have made us all more aware of these inequalities, but we know that this is just one part of a far wider effort to support more people of every background and ability to take part in physical activity, exercise and sport”

The campaign launched on the 1st of July across social platforms and will provide learnings for similar targeted campaigns across the country.