Employees and customers pedalling to plant trees

Preparations

We wanted to run an initiative that both our employees and our customers could join at the same time. We liked Activy because it combines healthy, engaging competition with a charity goal that turns the game into real help.

At first we were a bit worried about turnout. We didn't know whether customers and their employees would decide to join our challenge in particular. We knew there were already similar contests, for example on Strava, but we wanted to offer them something more.

It turned out we had worried for nothing. More and more participants joined the challenge, drawn by the dedicated contest app and how easy it was to compare themselves with others.

We invited quite a few other companies, our customers, to the contest, so promoting it that widely seemed like a big task. Fortunately, customers responded very enthusiastically to our invitation and helped promote it among their own employees.

Because of the pandemic we didn't have a big budget for a marketing campaign, so we used free channels: a newsletter, large eye-catching posters prepared by Activy, and direct contact with distributors and wholesalers. We even recorded videos inviting people to take part in the contest! 

The challenge

From the start, everyone got really into the challenge thanks to extra points for regularity and easy comparison of results with other players. What motivated them most, though, was the real support for the environment that came with every kilometre.

The conversion was simple: every 4 km meant another tree you could plant with your own hands at the end of the contest. The trees worked as a very vivid image. The thought of another seedling kept employees on their bikes; after all, what's another 4 kilometres!

One of my colleagues didn't exercise with us at all at first, but he decided he couldn't miss an initiative like this. He joined the challenge on the very last day so that, as he put it, he could add at least one tree of his own! - Dorota, challenge coordinator

Results

Besides the individual ranking, a fierce competition developed between companies and their branches in different cities. Participants could create and join three-person teams in the app. Because everything happened virtually, some groups were made up of people living in completely different cities.

One of them won the contest in the end: distance turned out to be no obstacle at all. The prizes were Decathlon vouchers and cycling gear, and we hope our challenge was just the beginning of their cycling adventure!

Taking part in the challenge gave me more faith in what I can do. I managed to find time to relax and explore the area - Basia, challenge participant