A Winning Mindset is a podcast like no other: Guests and the host all have a disability and tell phenomenal life stories with the aim of driving a cultural shift in the way disability is perceived and providing listeners with key learnings for their lives. The podcast themes included motivation, well-being, support networks and teamwork, and also recognised the people who sparked confidence in the athletes.
The objectives of the podcast were to:
- Support people with mental health topics,
- Use Para Sport to help transform the narrative around disability and communicate how the Paralympic Movement’s activities drive social inclusion
- Raise the profile of Para athletes
- Educate people about Para Sport, positioning it as highly competitive, entertaining and high performance
- Raise brand awareness for Allianz and IPC and their Worldwide Paralympic partnership, bringing to life Allianz’s brand promise of “Confidence in Tomorrow”
Off the back off a successful first series, the International Paralympic Committee collaborating with Allianz wanted to maintain a platform for Para athletes to share their empowering and inspirational stories. In season two, we recognised both the athletes, as well as the coaches, guides, family and friends. In an increasingly divided world, this was a powerful way to get across the importance of having the right team behind you while bringing to life Allianz’s brand promise of “Confidence in Tomorrow”.
For the International Paralympic Committee, one of its strategic priorities is to drive a cultural shift through Para sport for a truly inclusive society. This means using our position and influence, together with our events and athletes, to challenge the stigma attached to disability, empower social transformation and make for a more inclusive society for all.
Allianz as a longstanding partner continues to support the people, values and sense of community that brings together the Paralympic Movement. The podcast series is a great opportunity to share the Para athletes inspirational stories with a wider audience, covering a range of educational and confidence themes.
For the second series, Andy Stevenson, the host who also has a disability, remotely interviewed 10 Para athletes, scheduling them to adapt to their training schedules in the lead up to the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games. We also interviewed their friends, family and coaches, to get across Allianz’s brand messages of confidence and having the right team behind you.
As well as talking about their disabilities, the Para athletes also talked about mental health (such as Jaleen Roberts on bipolar disorder) and intellectual impairment (such as Jessica Jane Applegate on autism. The candid interviews aimed to break taboos and open up the coversation about intellectual and psychosocial disabilities.
142k+ listens across numerous podcast platforms since launch
54% female listenership
51.5% listeners under 35
Top 5 Countries by listeners: USA, UK, Germany, Turkey, Australia
4.7k average listeners per episode
4.9 star average listener review
50m+ reach for podcast posts across @IPC social platforms
More than 25 Allianz markets shared the podcast on internal and external channels
Facebook/Instagram: 27 million+ video views vs target 7 million
Spotify: 7,9 million impressions vs a target of 4 million impressions
