Gordon Arthur, communications director for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games discusses its new 'Sport Your Trainers' campaign.

What is “Sport Your Trainers”?

“Sport Your Trainers” is a national engagement campaign to get people all over Scotland to sling their stilettos, bin the brogues, free their feet and wear their trainers for just one day – on Commonwealth Day, Monday March 14th.
 
Where did the idea come from?

We were looking for a concept for a really strong engagement campaign that would have national reach and reinforce the connection between people across Scotland and Glasgow 2014. Linking into our Games Partners ambitions to use the Games as a catalyst for a positive change, wearing your trainers for one day is likely to encourage you to take more exercise.  You might run for a bus, or go for a walk at lunchtime, whereas you probably wouldn’t in your heels!

Who are you targeting through this initiative?

No-one is safe!  We want everyone from business leaders, schoolchildren and doctors to politicians, office workers and housewives to ditch their normal footwear and wear their trainers for the day in support of the Commonwealth Games.  Even your readers…..
 
How do you hope to communicate and highlight the campaign?

Our primary aim is to encourage individuals, groups, organisations and companies to manage it for themselves and their colleagues, for teachers to manage it for their schools, and for our contacts in Local Authorities to manage it for their councils, and to roll out the programme across Scotland with our support.

Everything you need to do this is on the website to download, including posters, a factsheet, and a suggested email template to circulate to your colleagues to get them on board.  When you go onto the website to do this – please make sure that you register yours and your organisation’s support by clicking on the “Support Sport Your Trainers” tab.

In terms of widespread engagement, we are using existing networks to reach out to communities across Scotland. We have sent out mass distribution emails to the Commonwealth Games Legacy Leads, to all colleges, schools, universities, and through business networks using BusinessClub Scotland.

We will be supporting this engagement campaign through photo opportunities that will be sent out to the media.  We have got some celebrities lined up, as well as professions like the fire service, the police, and even cabbies! 
The engagement and media campaigns are fully supported and integrated with a strong social media presence.  When Robbie Renwick launched the campaign at Scotstoun in his speedos, we posted a video on YouTube, which we then sent viral through Facebook and Twitter.
 
Will this become an annual event and if so, how do you plan on developing it?

“Sport Your Trainers” will take place each year on Commonwealth Day – the second Monday of every March – up to and including 2014.

This is the first of four years of “Sport Your Trainers”, and we’re confident that it will grow year on year.  The support we have received already is fantastic, and yesterday we surpassed 3,000 followers on our Twitter page. (The follow is @glasgow2014.)

Are there any other, similar initiatives planned to highlight the 2014 Commonwealth Games?

As this will run annually, this will be our main engagement campaign going forward.  That said, we will be looking at different campaigns to recruit up to 15,000 volunteers, we will have a ticketing strategy in place and part of our role in the Communications Team will be to develop a Communications Strategy to sell those tickets.  Watch this space!