USA Track & Field, in partnership with The Hershey Company, established RunJumpThrow in 2015 to inspire a love for fitness in children by teaching them the fundamentals of track and field. We offer free curriculums to schools and local organizations, whether it be a field day event or six-week-long program.
When the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic halted most in-person activities in the U.S., USATF created a series of digital RunJumpThrow experiences for parents to share with their school-aged children at home. Unable to capture new content until fall 2020, we had to stretch creatively with existing assets. We later built off our digitally-focused momentum with a series of safe in-person events with Olympic and elite athletes.
Goals:
- Provide a reputable resource for guardians and educators to find at-home physical education content
- Continue momentum with already-engaged RunJumpThrow event organizers
- Increase awareness of the program nationally
- Begin first phase of creating Olympic and elite athlete program ambassadors
Objectives:
- Create three editions of content using existing imagery/programming
- Repurpose each edition for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram Stories
Strategy
- Use high-quality images from previous RunJumpThrow events featuring Olympic medalists
- Amplify reach by engaging with professional athletes that are also parents or high-profile
- Generate earned media to expand community awareness
- Create a rollout plan based on relevant national discussions
Implementation
- USATF Marketing pulled activities from the curriculum that could easily translate to an at-home practice (ex: no equipment required)
- Using RunJumpThrow design elements, we created a template for Facebook/Twitter and Instagram Stories
- Tagged elite athletes/parents to share our content
- Created a special "National Fitness Day" edition
- Posted as both video and still images for easy access
- Added direct links on RunJumpThrow website
- Added Instagram Stories as a Highlight on @usatf Instagram page
- Worked with elite athletes to host COVID-19 safe events in their local communities
Videos and photo albums received positive feedback from social media followers. Content later inspired athlete-hosted RunJumpThrow events later in the year.
Total video views: 32,000+
Instagram
Facebook
- Reach: 35,903
- Engagement: 1,011
Twitter
- Impressions: 88,334
- Engagement: 1,058
Athlete Events
- Worked with Olympic and elite athletes, including Olympian Jared Ward, on hosting 4 local RunJumpThrow events
- Succesfully reached children in their communities to spread hope
Earned Media
- Spotlight in local NBC story on e-learning resources
- Exclusive story on TeamUSA.org
