In APAC, a gender gap in sports still persists: women spend less time engaging in physical sport than men each week. In an area traditionally designed by men, for men, women face gender based discrimination, social stigma and inadequate apparel that pays little heed to the developmental norms of the female body. Additionally, our research found that 92% of women find it difficult to focus on their workout when their apparel is uncomfortable and ill-fitting.

Conversely, a strong community has been instrumental to women’s empowerment from time immemorial. So we decided to create the largest women’s circle in APAC - a region-wide ‘safe space’ to open up, feel seen and be heard. We gathered select members of the public, KOLs, KOCs and Media from 8 countries/cities to propel meaningful conversation, while experiencing our new Bras & Leggings collection - designed for women’s bodies to provide comfort, support, and breathability.

#BeSupportedBeYou was the largest women's circle in APAC. We united a diverse pool of influencers, media, and our own loyal customers from across the region for a 3D2N retreat, centred around the pillars of Reset, Recharge, and Rejuvenate: helping women reset their mental barriers, recharge their spirits, and reignite their passion for sports — all supported by adidas' latest Bras & Leggings collection.

With mental wellness reset sessions, self actualisation and nutrition workshops from experts in the field, we started conversations to support and encourage women. A myriad of fitness sessions were offered, including pilates, HIIT, strength, and running, to give them a push in discovering new workouts in a safe, comfortable and judgement-free space.

APAC's largest women’s circle, #BeSupportedBeYou was underpinned by one clear earned strategy - upend discomfort in women’s sport by helping all women in sport redefine comfort on their own terms, in the space to be themselves.

We started with identifying a diverse pool of women from key media outlets in APAC, key opinion leaders and consumers (KOLs and KOCs), identified as top members within our adiClub CRM database to invite to the experience held in Singapore.

To address their diverse concerns and needs, we designed multiple experiences to inspire and empower: vision boarding, a myriad of fitness activities to break the inertia from trying new sports, group sharing activities to discover common ground, fostering a safe space for discourse.

To reach as many women as possible in their most authentic way, we provided content creation briefs to amplify content built with intent to penetrate each person’s own circles of influence.

We leveraged owned socials and our app for a contest where the public could win spots to the retreat, before curating our KOCs from adiClub. Two weeks before the event, invitations were extended to lifestyle/fitness media and KOLs, mobilising a diverse community of women across APAC to amplify the campaign's impact.

During the event, owned Socials were activated heavily while KOLs and KOCs - dressed in the latest collection with the campaign hashtag, shared their personal growth experiences based on briefs that focused on key messages to amplify the "safe space" created for Sport. We co-created user-friendly "do-at-home" workout videos, which asked followers to visualise their goals for the year and made strides to actualise them, and to speak to the new Bras and Leggings collection. Post-event, we shared successes through content KOLs and KOLs shared on their socials, while amplifying the narrative on owned channels and earned media further.

The campaign secured 873 pieces of earned coverage from Media, KOLs and KOCs, reaching an aggregated audience of 27.5 million – more than five times our initial targets, and a calculated PR value of $5.08 million. The campaign made history with an unmatched 30% sales surge for the Bras & Leggings Collection across APAC markets compared to the previous year.

The campaign's hashtag drove more than 136,000 interactions over social platforms, reaching approximately 5.9 million unique users. Post-campaign surveys revealed 4 out of 5 participants applauding adidas' initiative to uplift women in Asia, expressing inspiration to share #BeSupportedBeYou to their own network.

This resonance was also measured anecdotally. Participants left the retreat with a reported shift in their comfort level in sports, experiencing newfound confidence, a positive mindset, and an overall sense of well-being. The women left feeling more comfortable in sport than when they first arrived.