Case Study: How I Roll - Wheelchair Sports NSW/ACT
Overview
HOW I ROLL Campaign is the story of thinking differently, reaching out, and speaking with girls and women in a new way to increase the visibility of female role models in disability sport.
Showcasing the stories and successes of female athletes to increase their visibility as sporting ‘roll’ models for girls and women living with disability.
Alongside How I Roll are our HER SPORT Festivals providing a safe and welcoming first point of entry for girls and women into wheelchair sport. How I Roll campaign and the HER SPORT Festivals contribute towards our HER SPORT Strategy, which was inspired by the Office of Sport’s Her Sport Her Way launch.
Thinking differently how to engage women and girls for sport for people with disability.
Connecting to girls and women through their passion points of Music, Dance and Art.
Building female ‘Roll Models’ to increase the visibility of the girls and women who play wheelchair sport ‘If she can see it, she can be it’.
Results
Successfully creating the How I Roll campaign showcasing the extraordinary spirit of the girls and women who play wheelchair sport through passion points of Music, Dance and Art.
- Wrote, produced the music video performed by Casey Donovan, featuring Eliza Ault-Connell, junior wheelchair sport athletes, and other wheelchair sport stars on the backdrop
- Music video shown on a range of high-profile broadcast media spots 2GB, Today Show and ABC
- Executed a Flash Mob Dance on International Women’s Day, 2021 in Martin Place, Sydney
- Portrait Exhibition by multiple Archibald Finalist Kirsty Neilson featuring 7 girls and women of Wheelchair Sport, Eliza Stankovic-Mowle, Ameera Lee, Julie Charlton, Hayley Slocombe, Geneva Colin, Annabelle Callender, Sarah Nguyen
- Produced Portrait film, launch featured on SBS World News and kicked off the travelling Portrait Exhibition to schools in regional NSW at Showstopper and Winning Playbook Forums
Challenges
- Significant impacts of COVID-19 we needed to bring forward the production of the song and music video significantly
- Change in production timings resulted in our targeted high-profile athletes not available
- Shift in focus to using our junior athletes and building their confidence as role models
Evaluation
- Increase visibility of women’s participation with high engagement of music video launch in 10-day drive (October 2020)
- 128,772 views across Facebook, YouTube, Twitter Instagram, and LinkedIn
- Membership increases following music and dance components of the campaign and HER SPORT Festivals
- 29% to 37% increase in female membership
- Tripled overall participation in wheelchair sports across NSW/ACT
"The grant program was the impetus for us to say, okay, here’s our opportunity. We know we’ve got a problem with visibility. We also know we’ve got extraordinary athletes. How do we bring those ideas together now that we have some flexibility and funding to do it … we set out to create a campaign which would elevate the visibility of our wonderful athletes, not only the superstars of our sport but also the emerging younger athletes".
How I Roll Campaign has successfully increased the visibility of women who play wheelchair sport with more than 300,000 views and counting, building female ‘roll models’ in wheelchair sport.
Further Information: How I Roll