Motivate

- The Early Years
(1973-1979)
- Don't Just Think About it - Do It
(1983-1984)
- Body Break
(1989-1991)
- Vitality
(1991-1995)
- Sharing A Healthier Future
(1996-1998)

Mobilize

- ParticipACTION Saskatoon
- CrownLife ParticipACTION Challenge

Educate

- Healthy Active Living
(Older Adults)

- Fitness: The Facts
(Workplace)

- Project APEX
(Children)

- Promotions
(1972-79)
- Promotions
(1980-86)

Impact

- International Involvement
- Canadian Public Health Association Supplement

Structure

- Historic Timeline
- People
- Sponsors

Fitness the Facts

Fast Facts:
Campaign: Fitness: The Facts
Dates: 1980-1985
Description: A series of six highly educational and illustrated booklets, plus support promotional materials, distributed to all employees by their employer.
Funding: Development and production costs were covered by large volume sales to major corporations.

Overview:

Developed by ParticipACTION in 1980-81. The concept and editorial content was the work of Sarner Young (today’s Manifest Communication and EYE Communications), while the creative design, illustration and packaging was the work of Fifty Fingers (today’s Spencer Francey Peters).

Target audience was employees and their families.

Funding was provided by a pre-production commitment to purchase from a number of major employers (Canadian National, Air Canada, etc) who guaranteed the program would be economically viable before production funds were invested by ParticipACTION.

Dr. Robert Bandeen, then President of Canadian National Railway and a ParticipACTION Board member was the individual primarily responsible for obtaining these major corporate commitments.

OBJECTIVES

  • Provide attractive, factual information to employees (and family members) on an understanding of physical fitness, its benefits and how to get started
  • Provide promotional materials to increase readership
  • Provide motivational information to help individuals adopt an active lifestyle

RESOURCES

  • Six booklets with one distributed by the employer each month to every employee. These booklets would take employees through a step-by-step process and the booklets could be saved in the attractive package provided
  • Six posters, one intended for each booklet, which would be displayed one week prior to a booklet’s distribution. The poster would contain a "provocative" illustration and raise some questions which would be answered by reading the coming booklet. (This strategy proved to increase readership.)
  • Twelve single page articles, two related to each booklet, which would be distribute during the month that the respective booklet was being featured. These articles would further elaborate on the booklet’s information, while serving to keep it "top of mind"

IMPLEMENTATION

See description in resources above for implementation strategy.

  • All materials were paid for upfront by employers who were provided with the recommended implementation plan
  • A special message could be included inside the front cover of the first booklet from the company’s President, and all booklets could be produced with the company’s logo printed on the cover of the booklets
  • Employees were encouraged to take the booklets home and share them with their family. To support this intent, some employers actually mailed the monthly booklets directly to the homes of employees

Many companies ultimately purchased this resource – one of the first employee fitness communication programs in Canada – and well over 100,000 employees ultimately received the set of six booklets.

 

   

Home Page

Motivate

The Early Years (1973-1979) | Don't Just Think About it - Do It (1983-1984) | Body Break (1989-1991)
Vitality (1991-1995) | Sharing A Healthier Future (1996-1998)
Mobilize
ParticipACTION Saskatoon | CrownLife ParticipACTION Challenge
Educate
Healthy Active Living (Older Adults) | Fitness: The Facts (Workplace) | Project APEX (Children)
Promotions (1972-79) | Promotions (1980-86)
Impact
Public Surveys | International Involvement | Canadian Public Health Association Supplement
Structure
Historic Timeline | People | Sponsors