Sports brand Juco reinforces its principles of participation and inclusivity with a novel approach to its latest marketing campaign.
Juco, the newest addition to The Parently Group’s portfolio, is on a mission to get everybody to participate in school and grassroots sports. To help achieve this, the Juco brand team recently worked on a concept that would help shine a new light on the Juco collection by capturing a series of natural, unstaged moments that showcase kids feeling empowered in its sportswear products.
“We felt strongly that Juco needed to reflect a realness to differentiate the brand and stay true to our purpose of making sports accessible to everybody,” says Bryony Pestell-Barron, Head of Brand at Juco. “Owning our story became our inspiration, it was then a case of exploring what we would need to do to truly reflect kids’ participation in sport.
“It quickly became apparent that breaking free of the standard two boys, two girls model approach was key to unlocking how it feels to be involved in team sports. But working with a football team’s worth of models was, quite simply, cost-prohibitive. That led us to approach UK Sports, which we knew to be experts in the provision of PE resources in schools, giving us the insight needed to create real scenarios alongside access to a large pool of sport-loving children.”
To capture the spirit of kids at play, UK Sports invited Juco to its summer sports camp.
Its team of coaches devised a series of PE-themed sessions to help bring Juco’s brand principles of team spirit, friendship, empowerment and energy to life. “We felt strongly that the images should feel real and full of energy,” continues Pestell-Barron. “So we tasked our agency, Creative Spark, to find a photographer who could capture candid, intimate sporting moments rather than the glossy, posed images you typically see from sports brands. We knew right away that Tom Cox was our man. His portfolio conveyed the sense of fun we were looking for and most importantly, he wasn’t fazed by the prospect of working with a large group of non-models.”
Over two days, Tom Cox and videographer Luke Thompson documented a variety of sports activities including dance and a PE-inspired session.
With Juco also wanting to showcase the breadth of its in-house garment decoration services on team kits, football was a focus too, with four teams representing the scope of the brand’s print capability. “Our photographer was very careful not to interrupt the flow of the children’s activities so we could capture intimate sporting moments that would be impossible to manufacture,” says Pestell-Barron.
“We hope that anyone who interacts with the campaign, whether it’s our retailers, schools or grassroots teams, will feel a connection to these happy, energetic images. Participation is not just about being the best or winning, and we felt it was important to reflect this by celebrating the messy, funny, bonding moments that make participating in sport such a joy.”
Juco’s Head of Engagement, Tess Gee, was on set for the two days overseeing the smooth running of the shoot, and ensuring the essence of Juco’s brand values were captured. “It’s fair to say this was our most ambitious shoot to date,” says Gee. “Working with a large group of children who had never modelled before was a daunting task. They responded so well to the garments; they felt comfortable, relaxed and under the guidance of UK Sports, they thrived in their sporting endeavours showing that there are no barriers to participation when you are wearing the right kit.”
With the soul of the brand now captured in picture form, the Juco team will continue building on the concept of empowering children through its products via candid communication.
“We’re working hard within the brand to empower participation in our networks so that the messages we’re communicating come from an authentic place,” confirms Gee. “Several of our team have signed up to support coaching at their children’s sports clubs and we are the kit sponsor for these teams, which gives us first-hand experiences of how it feels for the kids to wear Juco. We’ve also held Juco ‘netwalking’ sessions to help our team further understand barriers to participation, and we plan to roll out more wellbeing activities in 2024 so that we are living and breathing our values.
“Our product team has spent a lot of time rationalising the range and introducing new products to enable schools to offer a comprehensive kit that looks and feels great to wear. Juco has now established itself as a brilliant option for schools. We will build on this with authentic storytelling around the issues schools are facing in their provision of sports, together with increased support of grassroots teams and organisations, in order to showcase the brand across a diverse range of sporting endeavours.
“What you see in these final images is a pure representation of how it feels to participate in sport. It was great to see the kids having fun, supporting each other, and putting Juco through its paces.”
Click here to watch the Juco brand video filmed on set during the photoshoot. For further information on Juco, please click here.
