R/GA London Partners with Allianz to Encourage Young People with Disabilities into Sport

R/GA London is pleased to announce that it has partnered with Allianz on the launch of a campaign designed to encourage more young people with disabilities to take up sport. ‘Day 1 Done’ introduces a new digital training series led by well-known paralympic athletes. The campaign, which is part of Allianz’s MoveNow program, was co-created by people with disabilities - with over 50% of the film crew having impairments themselves.

As part of the campaign, R/GA and Allianz have created daily motivational calendar tips, including audio messages -  from the athletes starring in the campaign - that sync directly to people’s phone calendars, to remind them to keep moving beyond Day 1. The training series will also be broadcast live from Thailand at the United Through Sport festival on the 20th November - encouraging thousands of kids to get into sport, tying directly back into what Day 1 Done is all about.

As the Worldwide Insurance Partner of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements, Allianz looked at the main barriers young people with disabilities are facing, such as loss of confidence stemming from comparing skills to those of peers with typical development or a lack of access to instructors with the skills to provide inclusive training. Additionally, a key insight which informed the strategy of this campaign, was that people, especially the younger generation, moved significantly less due to the pandemic – and the MoveNow program was created to help get them moving again.

Allianz and the IPC partnered with R/GA London to address some of these barriers by developing and building the MoveNow Training Series. With the insight that, for anyone getting into sport, the hardest part of the journey is getting started, the films aim to educate and energise the next generation by sharing their personal sporting journeys, how they prepared for the best, starting from the day that changed everything…day one.

The content features inspiring and easy-to-understand training videos featuring real Paralympians telling their stories - Nico Langmann (Para Tennis), Fleur Jong (Long Jump), Mary Fitzgerald (Shot Put) and Guido Bonsen, coach of Team Para Atletiek.

R/GA London and Allianz worked to ensure the films demonstrate that as many young people as possible can #MoveNow and break through that Day 1 wall. Additional Paralympian guided training plans provide them with the knowledge and support to keep them moving and prepare them for their journey into sports. The content gives viewers inclusive and accessible training drills - audio-guided, sign language and subtitle versions - that can be carried out easily at home through a microsite which includes downloadable training plans for people to access at all times.

Critically, the production and execution was as inclusive and accessible as possible. R/GA London worked with a specialist production company that offers opportunities behind the camera for those in the media industry with disabilities, as well as using a casting agency for people with disabilities to select those featuring in the films.

Eike Bürgel, global head of Olympic and Paralympic program management at Allianz, said, “There is an increasing gap when it comes to inclusivity and accessibility in sports and beyond. Through our partnership with the IPC, we will continue to get behind the hopes, challenges and needs of the Para athlete community by creating a pathway of participation for people with disabilities and inspire young people to get active.”

Nick Pringle, SVP executive creative director at R/GA London commented, “ Approach to this campaign is as important as the creative concept. We continually strive to deliver work that is more human and more inclusive.”

Check out Day 1 Done here.