| Winner | Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa |
| Marketing initiative | Let’s go Unpro |
| Marketing partners | Special, MBM NZ |
| Finalists | Auckland Transport, Dunedin City Council, Hutt City Council, Lotto NZ, NCSC, RotoruaNZ (highly commended) |
| Judges’ comments | “This campaign has a truly rock-solid link from their deep audience insight to their organisational objectives, campaign strategy and into one single-minded idea and concept, staying its course throughout. The power lies in the audience taking on the campaign concept themselves and making it their own. The behavioural change results speak for themselves. Well done team!” |
Go pro? Say no
“Let’s go Unpro” was Sport NZ’s message to young women in a campaign about enjoying the fun and freedom of playing sport.
Since 2019, the numbers of young women aged 14 to 17 meeting the WHO’s physical activity guidelines has steadily declined – from 54% down to just 43% in 2023.
At the same time, inactivity is on the rise. The proportion of young women doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity per week doubled, from 7% in 2019 to 14% in 2023.
To find out more about this shift, Sport NZ conducted extensive research, combining quantitative data with rich qualitative insights.
The analysis revealed a clear and consistent theme: lots of young women lack confidence to take part in sports. Many have stopped playing altogether. Why? Physical activity environments are increasingly competitive and judgemental. Other factors included competing life pressures, body image concerns and the desire to fit in.
The solution wasn’t to lecture or ‘empower’ from the outside, but to create a space where young women could see themselves and support each other.
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Perfectly imperfect
Sport NZ developed an influencer-led campaign to redefine what being active looks and feels like. It encouraged young women to simply give it a go, have fun and enjoy being active without the pressure to be a “pro.”
“We invited fails, honest reflections and unscripted expression. Whether it was trying a new move, getting back on the bike or walking with friends, every piece of content was perfectly imperfect,” say Sport NZ.
Sport NZ partnered with a diverse group of 15 Gen Z influencers, including mental health advocate Jazz Thornton and professional athlete Katelyn Vaha’akolo. Other influencers spanned beauty, comedy, music, fashion and gaming. They all championed the enjoyment of movement and self-expression in their content, known as “Unpros”.
Using a highly targeted approach across TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, Unpros achieved 20 million video views, more than 500,000 post engagements and 97% positive sentiment.
Most importantly, they sparked real change: the number of young women meeting WHO physical activity guidelines rose by 9.2%, tripling Sport NZ’s initial target.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 84, Sept-Nov 2025. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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