1. Fit & Active Barnet (FAB) campaign
London Borough: Barnet Lead Contact: Cassie Bridger
CONTEXT / NEED
DELIVERY
IMPACT / RESULT
Following input from the FAB Partnership (concept design) the overarching campaign launched on 17 July 2018 consisting of the following (this list is not exhaustive);
Development of a FAB Hub – a one stop shop for all things SPA related in the borough including the Get London Active Activity Finder, SPA recommendations, case studies etc.
Double page spread in the Councils publication, Barnet First, delivered to circa 136,500 homes
Bus shelter and high street posters
Digital advertising and social media posts
Posters to GP surgeries, libraries and other community settings
Critical to the success of the campaign was the call to action; encouraging residents to register for a free FAB Card (pay and play membership) offering benefits across the borough’s leisure centres and beyond. Examples include up to 50% discount on activities, free swimming for U8’s, 8 – 15 year olds swim for £1 and more!
Despite the main campaign activity spanning over a short period of four weeks, as of January over 19,000 residents had signed up for the FAB Card and this continues to grow. This is a clear indication that the campaign was impactful and has ‘stuck’.
Upon analysis of the various promotional techniques utilised Facebook advertising and web banners received a combined 4,508 click throughs to the FAB Hub. This is a click through rate of 1.45% (average for similar advertisements is 0.1%) Organic tweets received 191 click link clicks.
Next Steps; plans for the delivery of FAB 2 (2019) including targeted sub campaigns are in development. Review of the FAB Hub is continual, ensuring that this remains an easy to use and engaging platform for residents, partners, health professionals etc. Club and activity provider engagement continues to be a high priority to ensure they are on board and benefiting from the FAB movement. Roll out of FAB and a corporate leisure membership for Council employees.
The Fit & Active Barnet (FAB) Framework ( ) is the borough’s strategic document setting out a shared vision to ‘create a more active and healthy borough’. Delivery of the Framework is governed via a FAB Partnership Board; represented by a range of stakeholders including the borough’s leisure operator (GLL), London Sport and the VCS. To drive delivery of the shared vision, a collaborative campaign was devised and delivered with a view to raise awareness and enhance access to sport and physical activity (SPA) opportunities in the borough by challenging common barriers to participation.
The overarching campaign was designed to reach all residents in the first tranche (July 18) with sub-campaigns to follow focusing on engaging target demographics, linked to national/local awareness events e.g. UK Day for Older People, International Women’s Day etc.
KEY LEARNINGS
The success of FAB from concept design through to resident engagement can be largely attributed to collaborative working across the FAB Partnership. Engagement and input from a cross sector of stakeholders ensured that the needs of residents and communities were truly captured and this was reflected through the reach of the campaign.
Following a thorough analysis of the campaign it was apparent that digital promotional techniques were far more engaging than traditional methods e.g. advertising within Barnet First and bus shelter ads etc. This also proved better value for money given that it was considerably cheaper to promote via these methods, in addition to the ‘reach’ being quantifiable. Interestingly the highest number of impressions via digital promotional techniques were delivered to residents aged years and the lowest was young people aged 18–34 years. The number of click throughs demonstrated an equal trend with this being most active amongst year olds. Analysis also demonstrated that female audiences were slightly more responsive than male. This insight will be applied through the design and delivery of FAB 2 (and sub campaigns) to ensure we are reaching all target demographics appropriately.
Having a clear call to action (FAB Card) that responds to the ‘what’s in it for me’ question and creates a sustainable change in behaviour has driven the success of the campaign. Use of local people/groups within the artwork and videography has supported impact and relatability of the campaign. Kusum, 76 and Ben Harris