Press release -
Discovery’s Vitality Open gets more South Africans active and driving better
Discovery’s Vitality Open gets more South Africans active and driving better
Discovery Vitality today released the results of its 10-week public campaign, the Vitality Open, which was aimed at getting South Africans to exercise more and improve their driving behaviour.
Dinesh Govender, Vitality’s Chief Executive Officer, explained the rationale behind the Vitality Open, stating, “We know there are two main behaviours causing significant illness and death among South Africans – physical inactivity, and how we drive. Globally, more than five million people die prematurely as a result of sedentary lifestyles, and more than 1.25 million people die in road accidents every year. Through the Vitality Open, we wanted to create greater awareness for the need to change the behaviours that lead to road accidents and the rise in noncommunicable diseases in South Africa.”
The Vitality Open gave all South Africans, whether they were Vitality members or not, the opportunity to take part in Vitality, Discovery’s science-based behavioural programme. The Vitality Open encouraged participants to be more active and to drive more safely with personalised fitness and driving goals through the Discovery app. By reaching these goals, participants earned weekly rewards and entries into a grand prize draw for flights, fuel, gym membership, movies, concert tickets, smoothies, coffees, tyres, Uber trips, Nando’s, running shoes, HealthyFood and the latest iPhone for life. Winners of these prizes were announced on Monday, 10 December.
Launched on 13 September this year, Govender said, “The Vitality Open proved to be incredibly successful, especially considering the complexity associated with changing behaviour.”
South Africans took up the challenge with positive results
- More than 550 000 South Africans participated in the Vitality Open, increasing the number of Vitality Active Rewards participants by 25%.
- 80% of new participants were not Vitality members, reflecting the broad appeal of the Vitality Open and the effectiveness of rewards to encourage behaviour change.
- New participants increased their physical activity by 34% over the 10 weeks.
- Almost one third of new participants improved their driving substantially enough to significantly reduce their risk of accidents.
- 75 000 people participated in parkruns at venues across South Africa - a 24% increase.
The positive results from the Vitality Open in South Africa are even more significant against the backdrop of the ground-breaking new behaviour-change study done by RAND Europe. This study, which included Vitality Active Rewards participants in the United States, the United Kingdom and South Africa over a two-year period, found an average increase of 44% in activity levels of South African participants using Vitality Active Rewards with Apple Watch compared with those without Apple Watch as an incentive.
Govender concluded, “We are thrilled with the results of the 10-week campaign and congratulate every person who took part to become more active and make our roads safer. The Vitality Open represented Discovery’s shared-value model of developing and utilising our technologies and products to positively impact society. Another component of Vitality Open that reflected this was MoveToGive. Instead of choosing a coffee, smoothie or other reward, Vitality Open participants had the opportunity to donate their rewards. I’m pleased to announce that thousands contributed towards building a ‘Dream Room’ at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital with Reach for a Dream. These rooms create a sanctuary for children with life-threatening illnesses. The campaign also contributed over 42 000 meals for FoodForward SA, who works to reduce food wastage and recovers surplus food from farms, retailers and restaurants to distribute it to people in need.”
ENDS
Notes to the editor:
About the Vitality Open
For 10 weeks only, Vitality Active Rewards, Discovery’s science-based behaviour change programme, was open to the public. The campaign was aimed at rewarding South Africans for getting active and driving well.
This is how it worked:
All South Africans, whether they are members of Discovery Vitality or not, could enter the Vitality Open and take part. Participants were required to download the Discovery app, achieve fitness and driving goals to earn weekly rewards, and a chance to win prizes for life.
More information on the MoveToGive donations raised during the campaign:
Building a Dream Room. Discovery Vitality and Reach For A Dream Foundation joined forces to create another Dream Room, opening at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Paediatric Oncology Ward in Johannesburg this month. Reach for a Dream aims to build 30 Dream Rooms at hospitals that supply critical care to children with life-threatening diseases. A Dream Room is a sanctuary where they can escape their clinical surroundings.
Donating meals to Food Forward. According to FoodForward SA, 14 million South Africans go hungry each day, while a third of all food produced in the country goes to landfills. The organisation works to reduce food wastage and recover surplus food for those who need it.
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About Discovery
Discovery Limited is a South African-founded financial services organisation that operates in the healthcare, life assurance, short-term insurance, savings and investment and wellness markets. Since inception, Discovery has been guided by a clear core purpose – to make people healthier and to enhance and protect their lives. This has manifested in its globally recognised Vitality Shared-Value insurance model, exported to over 19 countries and reaching over 11 million members. Discovery trades on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, with a market cap of $7 billion.
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