RECAP REPORT Healthy Kids + Places to Play + Events that Impact = VIVA SWIM For Life. San Antonio Sports’ mission is to transform our USA Swimming let us know it was particularly community through the power of sport, and our vision interested in increasing its impact in the country’s ever- is to have Healthy Kids, Places to Play and Events growing Hispanic community. San Antonio’s population that Impact. In 2015, the mission and vision were is 63% Hispanic, which made it the perfect test market personified as we hosted four premier swimming for a learn-to-swim program focused on this important championships (Events that Impact), in a new, world- demographic. class facility (Places to Play), which sparked the development of an innovative community-based learn- San Antonio Sports VIVA SWIM For Life was born of to-swim program for thousands of children (Healthy this opportunity to leverage the presence of the Kids). premier events with San Antonio’s majority minority population. We are proud to say VIVA SWIM For Life San Antonio Sports designated 2015 as the “Year of increased the number of swim lessons available in Swimming.” San Antonio was the site of four major our community, the number of children who took swimming competitions*, which gave us the perfect swim lessons, and has had a lasting impact on opportunity to create a campaign that promoted life- public policy. saving, learn-to-swim classes and inspired children and adults to engage in the sport of swimming. *NOTE: The four swimming competitions were: Nationwide U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championships, USA Swimming’s Speedo Jr. National Championships and Phillips 66 National Championships, and the World Deaf Swimming Championships, delivering a total economic impact of $9.1 million. The Need Is Real Approximately 10 people drown every day in the More than one in five fatal drowning victims are WHAT WORKS U.S. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention children younger than 14 (Source: CDC) (CDC)). Participation in formal swimming lessons can If a parent does not know how to swim, there reduce the risk of drowning by 88 percent among Seventy percent (70%) of African-American, 60% is only a 13 percent chance that a child in that children aged one to four years. (Source: Pediatrics & of Hispanic/Latino and 40% of Caucasian children household will learn how to swim. (Source: National Adolescent Medicine 2009) cannot swim. (Source: National research study by research study by the USA Swimming Foundation and the the USA Swimming Foundation and the University of University of Memphis) Memphis) Program Details San Antonio Sports’ VIVA SWIM For Life presented by SPONSORS WHO BELIEVED OUR GOALS WERE TO: University Health System connected children and their To achieve these goals, San Antonio Sports knew it Increase the number of swim lessons offered in San families to swim lessons taught by qualified instructors needed supportive sponsors who shared our vision Antonio, especially in underserved neighborhoods with at public and private pools. This community-wide and could help fund a campaign. USA Swimming and large percentages of minority residents initiative was led by San Antonio Sports in conjunction the USA Swimming Foundation quickly committed with USA Swimming and the USA Swimming Increase the percentage of lessons taken at resources. University Health System, Bexar County’s Foundation and was supported by a collaboration of participating facilities over the previous year nationally recognized teaching hospital and only Level I other nonprofit organizations, pool facilities, sponsors Increase the awareness of the sport of swimming trauma center with a network of outpatient healthcare and media partners. in San Antonio and connect new swimmers to existing centers, recognized the value of an initiative that would clubs and leagues, and teach the life-saving skill of swimming and committed to be the presenting sponsor. VIA Metropolitan Drive attendance to the 2015 swim championships Transit committed sponsorship, advertising on buses being hosted in San Antonio. and transit benches and free bus passes to anyone participating in a VIVA SWIM For Life swim class in an effort to eliminate transportation barriers, andH-E-B grocery stores also committed its support. Please see the sponsor activation recap addendum to this report. WHERE CAN I LEARN TO SWIM? THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY – San Antonio Sports surveyed reputable swim lesson SAN ANTONIO’S PUBLIC POOLS Thanks to VIVA SWIM providers in the community, including public, nonprofit The greatest gap between community need and the and private entities. We identified their locations, opportunity to take swim lessons was with the City of For Life, 100% of obtained the numbers of swim lessons they provided San Antonio Parks & Recreation (SAPAR) department’s from March through August in 2014 (35,876) and asked outdoor swimming pools. Most are located in the city’s SAPAR’s 2,880 available their capacity for swim lessons during the same period most underserved neighborhoods, which are 85% or in 2015. Ultimately, we identified and met with 10 more Hispanic. SAPAR has 24 outdoor pools, but only swim lessons were providers that represented 50 area swimming pool 10 of those offered swim lessons during the summer locations. Together, these providers represented 38,657 months, and of those 10, only four provided a full 12- filled. That’s 2,880 potential swim lessons. week slate of swim lessons. 5 29 San Antonio Sports realized for VIVA SWIM For Life people who took swim 37 3 4 to be a truly effective campaign that delivered swim 8 33 24 36 lessons to San Antonio’s most needy, minority (majority lessons for free in 32 30 6 34 14 18 Hispanic) citizens, we needed lessons in all the SAPAR 38 10 pools. We sprang into action and quickly secured eight SAPAR outdoor pools 25 31 26 sponsors to generously fund free swim lessons in the 12 7 28 21 14 pools that were not providing lessons! In an effort to during the summer of 17 39 11 1 20 13 27 40 35 2 eliminate confusion between free and paid lessons at 15 its pools, the City of San Antonio joined the movement 2015 in San Antonio – 19 9 23 22 and decided to make lessons at the remaining 10 pools free as well. 16 unprecedented! Details of this map can be seen on the Viva Swim website. POOL PROVIDERS RECAP REPORT VIVA SWIM For Life Launches Once all key sponsors, swim lesson providers and THE PROGRAM SAPAR pool underwriters were in place, San Antonio - Participants (and/or their parents/guardians) were Sports launched the VIVA SWIM For Life presented by encouraged to sign up and complete a swim lesson University Health System integrated campaign. with one of the VIVA SWIM providers between March 1 and August 31, 2015 - Upon conclusion of the lesson, each participant would receive a Certificate of Completion provided by San Antonio Sports to each provider - Participants were then invited to take the Certificate of Completion to the Nationwide U.S. Masters Swimming Spring National Championship or the Phillips 66 National Championships at the appointed time and receive a VIVA SWIM medal from Olympic gold medal swimmer and San Antonio native Josh Davis plus two free tickets to the watch the event. * Most medal recipients were accompanied by additional family members and friends, boosting paid admission at the Phillips 66 National Championships prelims. - The Certificates of Completion also listed local USA Swimming-affiliated swim clubs and encouraged new swimmers to continue to flex their new-found skills there. THE INTEGRATED MARKETING PLAN Media Paid Media SanAntonioSports.org/VivaSwim San Antonio Sports is proud to have strong San Antonio Sports had a $25,000 budget for the The VIVA SWIM website, created in-house by San relationships with the major media outlets in the campaign, which we were able to leverage for an Antonio Sports staff, served as the primary point of Alamo City, several of whom serve on our nonprofit additional $256,440 of in-kind value from our media information for all participants. organization’s board of directors. We turned to those partners. partners to create a strong media campaign, comprised of both paid and earned media. Recognizing that a large segment of our target market speaks Spanish as a first language, we included Spanish language media in our marketing mix. Click to view our Flipboard. Earned Media Earned media efforts for VIVA SWIM For Life supported Creative the program’s goals. Thousands of dollars of media With the help of Creative Civilization, one of the value was generated from consistent coverage nation’s leading Hispanic advertising agencies, San including: Antonio Sports produced a :30 TV spot in both English • 45 television stories and Spanish. • 16 radio stories • 11 print articles • 20 online news & blogs postings RECAP REPORT Campaign Highlights The campaign launched on April Pool’s Day with World’s Largest Swim Lesson: a news release a press conference at Northside Swim Center, the highlighting pool partners participating in the WLSL site of the swimming championships. San Antonio was distributed. Television lifestyle shows, Daytime Sports officials were joined by San Antonio Fire Chief at Nine and San Antonio Living, did live shots from Charles Hood, members of the W.A.T.C.H. Coalition a SAPAR pool with SAS staff interviewed about the (Water Awareness Through Community Help) and importance of learning to swim. Coverage was also representatives from a broad alliance of swim received in the Southside Reporter. providers. A video with Mayor Ivy Taylor committing to learn to swim, and Olympian Jimmy Feigen, were Make A Splash came to San Antonio on June 22 shown. Six television, two radio and two print outlets providing another emphasis on drowning prevention covered the press conference, including two major through swim lessons.