The Combat Warm-up

Background

Every woman should be able to walk and run where she wants, when she wants. This only seems logical, yet one in two women often take a side trip for fear of harassment. Garmin wanted to raise awareness of this societal problem. And it did so in an empowering way with The Combat Warm-up, three warm-up exercises that warm up your body for your running session and teach self-defense techniques. The Combat Warm-up was developed by Belgian Gold Olympic medalist Kim Gevaert and European Taekwondo champion Laurence Rase. The tutorials were accompanied by a manifesto film raising awareness for the feeling of insecurity many women experience.

Idea

With The Combat Warm-up Garmin wanted to give women more confidence when they go running. But the brand also acknowledges that it cannot eliminate all insecurities or fears: "We feel that women are sometimes inhibited when they run outdoors alone because they don't feel comfortable. We, Garmin, can not eliminate all insecurities or fears, but we can help women by opening up the conversation and by offering them tools that improve their state of mind before running," explains Nicolas Coppens, Belgium Garmin's marketing manager. As an expert in activity trackers, Garmin assists runners with the necessary technology to ensure that they exercise responsibly and safely. Now that the running season was in full swing, Garmin wanted to ensure that women feel physically and mentally safe during their run. For the development of the exercises, Garmin and Famous Relations engaged two excellent athletes. Olympic champion Kim Gevaert helped to develop the exercises as a running expert. Her expertise ensured that the exercises activated the right muscle groups before running. Laurence Rase, former taekwondo champion and Technical Director of the Flemish Taekwondo Federation integrated the self-defence techniques. The result: three short and powerful tutorials that gave women a physical and mental boost before running. Famous Productions took care of the right atmosphere and style of the tutorials. They emanated a certain roughness and strength. As of the 22nd of June, the videos could be viewed on all social media channels of Garmin Belux. The tutorials were available as highlights on Garmin's Instagram page.

On Facebook, Instagram and Youtube, FamousGreyX provided a smart deployment. Women with an interest in running were targeted. They were first shown the manifesto video so they understood the context of the campaign. In the next stage, they discovered the exercises.

Famous Relations activated the necessary ambassadors and press to spread the message and the tutorials further, to sensitise a broad public. If you want to know more about how the exercises were created and which techniques are being used, you can visit the Garmin blog, where a behind-the-scenes video gives the necessary explanation. Disclaimer: The exercises developed by Kim Gevaert and Laurence Rase are intended as a warm-up for your running session. They integrate a self-defence technique intending to give a mental boost and increasing self-confidence. The self-defence techniques are not meant to be used proactively against people.

Results

• 26 press articles in Belgian media • The ads on social has been displayed 4.3 million times • 860k plays of the video’s where seen by women.

• Basic fit will organize 11 combat warm up sessions all over Belgium in November and December 2021.