In 2019 we identified that skaters engage in 50,000 social conversations a year about the shame, pain and fear of falling on the ice.

In response, we created #UpAgain, a campaign dedicated to inspiring skaters to overcome their challenges on and off the ice.

Over the next three years, #UpAgain became part of skating culture and was recognised and used by fans and athletes around the world.

So for Beijing 2022, we adapted the campaign to tell the athletes’ remarkable stories and celebrating their talent as they competed to get #UpAgain on the podium in Beijing.

These included the stories of 22-year-old Donovan Carillo who overcame Mexican machismo culture to become his country’s first Olympic figure skater in 30 years, US star Erin Jackson who became the first Black woman to win a speed skating medal at the Winter Olympics and Sjinkie Knegt, the Dutch short track skater who suffered multiple injuries including severe burns and made his way back to the top.

We used paid media across social to target sports fans with content about skaters from their countries.

We also partnered with a social agency based in China in order to localise the campaign for the host nation.

We revolutionised the ways fans consumed Speed Skating.

The sport traditionally sees skaters race in pairs against the clock in a bid to record the fastest time over distances.

We helped fans see exactly how medals were won and lost by creating animated visualisers that showed the athletes’ races simultaneously.

We created 23 of these visualisers, one for every speed skating and short track skating final during the Olympics. The result was unprecedented levels of engagement from the community who loved the activation.