Nike, Playtex, Aquafina Join Fitness Challenge

The American Collegiate Intramural Sports group has signed six corporate sponsors, including Playtex Sport, Aquafina and Nike, to take part in the ACIS Fitness Challenge being conducted this spring on 200 college campuses.The multifaceted promotional activity aims to motivate the 2.7 million students at participating schools to make more than five million visits to a gym and to burn more than 750 million calories this month and in April.Tinactin skin cream, Jelly Belly Sports Beans and Schwinn bicycles are the other sponsors on board.Part of the program encourages students to sign up for ACIS Fitness Rewards, a free incentive program rewarding physical activity. Participants are asked to complete 24 verified workouts in a six-week span. Workout incentives include water bottles, ID holders and T-shirts.In addition to the Fitness Rewards program, an ACIS Fitness Challenge at 100 campuses will pit teams of men and women competing in events to test strength, endurance flexibility and agility. Top teams from each campus will be entered into a drawing to win a free trip to compete at the ACIS Fitness National Championship on April 25 at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. Championship events include cycling/running, a tug-of-war and the Nike Swoosh Challenge obstacle course. Highlights of the finals will be featured in a 30-minute TV show on Fox College Sports.Based in New York, ACIS conducts intramural sports activities intertwined with a college marketing platform on campuses across the nation. Recreatonal events include football, basketball and fitness.“Through the ACIS platform, sponsors are able to make their product relevant to students by becoming a part of their . . . activities on campus,” said Ian Leopold, ACIS president. “Like all of our on-campus marketing programs, ACIS Fitness offers sponsors visibility, sampling and the type of continuity that’s needed to communicate a brand message to a targeted audience.”As part of the ACIS Fitness program, Playtex Sport is distributing more than 500,000 product samples to female students at campus recreation centers, fitness classes and other activities. Playtex will sponsor selected female fitness instructors with branded apparel, along with conducting a Playtex Sport Fit Female of the Month program.Aquafina is providing branded recycling bins to 50 select campuses. Participating schools will place bins, made from recycled materials, in high traffic locations. These schools also will be provided more than 25,000 Aquafina FlavorSplash product samples and 400-plus Aquafina T-shirts.Schwinn is providing two Panther Cruiser bicycles (MSRP $449) to 100 ACIS Fitness schools as prizes for participating students. Additionally, a sweepstakes across all 200 campuses will give away 10 of the bikes.In addition to signage exposure via mirror clings and locker magnets in men’s locker rooms, Tinactin is conducting a Tinactin Chill Toughest Athlete of the Week program among male students during the spring semester.Jelly Belly will distribute sample packs of its Sport Beans at various campuses, while Nike -- the Official Athletic Gear of ACIS -- sponsors the Swoosh Challenge at the Fitness National Championship.

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Nike, Playtex, Aquafina Join Fitness Challenge

Chuck Stogel

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