Dove and Nike have teamed up in Canada to launch the Body Confident Sport online coaching program, a set of informational tools designed to build confidence in 11- to 17-year-old girls.
The program is a two-year partnership between Nike and Dove, along with the Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) in Canada and the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport in the U.S. The brands worked with the research companies to delve into the perception of sports by tween and teen girls.
The researchers discovered that 47% of teenage girls drop out of sport at twice the rate of boys, with low body confidence as the biggest driver, explains Laura Douglas, Dove masterbrand lead in Canada. It revealed that many girls drop out of sports because they felt they didn’t have the right body, weren’t good enough or because they felt objectified or judged on their physical appearance. However, the research also indicates that girls understand the benefits of sport, with two in three saying they would be more body confident if they had stayed in sport for longer.
The goal of the program and promotional campaign is to reach “more than one million girls around the world,” Douglas says. “This includes funding to deploy the resource here in Canada with local sport organizations as well as making it readily available and freely accessible for all coaches in Canada in both English and French.”
Paid influencers and social are the driving elements of the media plan in Canada, with PHD amplifying influencer social activity with Edelman. “I built out a targeted media plan for defined Canadian audiences focusing on social channels as the predominant spend,” Douglas explains. “Not only does this drive the highest reach with our more narrowly defined audience [of Canadian women], but I firmly believe we need to spark and drive conversations on body confidence and sport. Many have a story to share on this topic, and social platforms allow for the storytelling, and more importantly, sharing to occur organically versus more traditional channels like TV, print, or OOH.”
Topline influencer names include tennis legend Venus Williams and gold medal Olympic Gymnast Laurie Hernandez, along with other select influencers in Canada.
“We wanted to increase exposure and reach against the strength of the influencer content as we know how important amplifying organic content is, especially as influencer media continues to grow in the Canadian market,” adds Marissa Robinson, planning director, PHD.
The Body Confident Sport website is targeted at coaches but available to anyone, including experienced and first-time coaches. It comprises five educational modules to help foster girls’ body confidence.
The program and partnership was announced globally and in Canada on October 24, and builds on Nike and Dove’s long-standing commitment to women in sport.
Image: Photo by JP Yim/Getty Images for Dove
