Volleyball is one of the most played sports in the world, and it is charting a new direction for gender equality. 84% of its fans have a strong interest in both men and women’s volleyball making it one of the most gender equal sports in the world. In fact, in 2019 the highest paid volleyball player in the world was female. Nonetheless, Volleyball’s professional leagues are not seen as distinctive or relevant to the average sports fan. Volleyball World (the main governing body) wanted to find a way to grab people’s attention, and show the world that Volleyball is truly a sport like no other. It wanted to stand up for equality, break down barriers, and start conversations. The problem was Volleyball World only has a fraction of the budget of most sporting bodies. We needed to think different if we wanted to create real impact.

While the rules in sports are often the same for all players, there remains a huge disparity between genders in sport which needs to be challenged. Women make up 40% of athletes, however as of 2020, they only receive 4% of the total sports media coverage in print and broadcast. This is despite large increases in coverage during events like the Olympics or World Cup. Female athletes are more likely to receive lower salaries, fewer sponsors, and inferior contracts. Volleyball aims to promote a level playing field across the sport with women’s and men’s major competitions receiving equal prize money and generating equal viewing figures. However, Volleyball World recognises there is always room to improve. This is why the sport of volleyball, through the Equal Jersey activation, aims to rectify this situation and score another point for gender equality.

The Equal Jersey shirt is a world first official sports jersey featuring the names and number of BOTH a male and female professional player. The jersey was designed with parallel lines representing boundaries, and a clear break in those lines showing how Volleyball is shattering conventions. The colour scheme features different hues of the same spectrum of pink to purple, reflecting Volleyball’s equality philosophy whilst creating an eye-catching colour splash on the court. This first ever Equal Jersey was designed to be worn by the world’s top volleyball players featuring not only their name, but also the name of the opposite gender who shares the same jersey number.

There remains a huge disparity between genders in sport. But the world is beginning to wake up to this disparity: 61% of fans want professional sports to evolve to become more inclusive. Volleyball World (the main governing body) wanted to find a way to grab people’s attention and show the world that Volleyball is truly a sport like no other. It wanted to stand up for equality, break down barriers, and start conversations.

To launch the idea, we worked with players from both teams in the Volleyball Nations League finals to wear the Equal Jerseys at a key point in a globally televised match. The jersey was proudly worn by the athletes during decisive gameplay moments for the world to see, and the event organizers even gave the project special mention with the game commentators calling it out for its importance and bold execution. From a simple shirt idea, the concept was amplified through the worldwide platform of a globally televised event, and from there on it snowballed into a planet wide equality talking point in regions across the world.

Our simple, but impactful, activation captured the world’s attention and surpassed our wildest expectations. In a month that featured the 2020 Euro cup, US Open and F1 2021, the Equal Jersey generated massive amounts of online conversations earned media, but most importantly, it ignited conversations around the need for equality in sports across the world.

Results:

· National news coverage in 21 countries

· Total reach 3.3 billion

· Estimated coverage reach 6.6 million

· Advertising Value Equivalency of 27.2 million

· Over the course of the Equal Jersey campaign there was an increase of 1230% in online conversations around sport and equality

· The number of positive tweets increased almost 9,5 times during the campaign period

· It even created a potential revenue stream for Volleyball World