Marketing Week

Sport England's 'This Girl Can' campaign, which celebrated the reality of exercise for most women – all cellulite, sweat and jiggling flesh - was an instant success, both in getting women more active and reducing the fear of judgement that had stopped many exercising. According to the IPA, the estimated return on marketing investment was £35 for every £1 spent, based on incremental sports and health benefits generated. However, its conception and development were challenging, with the objectives of long-term behaviour and attitude change requiring sign-off of a much larger budget for Sport England, at a time when the Government had put the breaks on public marcoms spending. To tell the story, Marketing Week editor Russell Parsons talks to Tanya Joseph, Sport England’s former director of business partnerships and one of the key architects of the campaign.