Australian Athletics entrusted Mana Sports and Entertainment Group with a key brief: boost awareness and drive registrations for Term 1 of its official junior program, Next Athletics, in Victoria and Western Australia.
With a proven track record in strategic sport marketing, Mana was tasked with delivering a high-impact, integrated campaign that would resonate with families and communities. The result was a seamless and successful execution that exceeded expectations – driving strong engagement, registrations, and reach while remaining on budget.
Next Athletics is the Official Junior Program of Australian Athletics designed for children aged 3 to 12, and introduces young participants to the fundamentals of athletics through fun, game-based learning and high-energy group sessions. The program not only helps kids develop key movement skills but also fosters lasting friendships.
Mana delivered a comprehensive strategy that aligned with Australian Athletics values and objectives, integrating marketing, social media, graphic design, and content creation. The campaign focused on engaging communities near program locations, building affinity for the program, and prompting quick conversions through strong calls-to-action.
In addition to designing all campaign assets, Mana developed targeted email messaging and a trade promotion to encourage engagement. A strategic digital campaign was deployed across Australian Athletics owned channels, combining organic social media with a paid digital media plan.
Mana created a detailed social media calendar timed to coincide with weekly offers and promotions for the Next Athletics program. A paid digital campaign then targeted lookalike audiences of current database subscribers in Western Australia and Victoria, along with geo-targeted Meta ads aimed at parents of children in the Next Athletics age bracket and individuals interested in athletics or parenting. The campaign also retargeted users who had interacted with Next Athletics content in the past 30 days or participated in the Term 4 sign-up push.
Leveraging athlete partnerships and audience-resonant messaging, Mana optimised spend on content that achieved exceptional performance reaching over 250,000 accounts, generating over 1 million impressions, and achieving a 2% click-through rate, exceeding industry averages all while staying under budget.
To ensure continued success Mana provided strategic recommendations for future campaigns, advising on content formats and messaging that better align with the needs and interests of the target audience.
This successful collaboration underscores Mana Global’s commitment to delivering results-driven marketing that connects with audiences and achieves client objectives.
