In 2021, with an estimated one in five UK adults affected by depression, the sports brand ASICS wanted to demonstrate how exercise could improve mood. By reaffirming its positioning of ‘sound mind, sound body’, the brand also aimed to increase preference and share. It released PR on the state of England’s mental health and pledged to uplift one of the towns identified as ‘saddest’, Retford, by introducing exercise stations and other local activations to encourage wellbeing. Data showed the town’s ‘mood’ improved by 27%. These results were amplified on earned and owned channels, and over the period, ASICs grew UK market share from 19% to 26%.