Unibet has launched a campaign with the Dutch cycling team to raise awareness about heart health issues within the cycling community.
Kindred Group plc’s flagship brand Unibet has partnered with Tour de Tietema to develop an online learning tool in response to the growing concern over heart health issues within the cycling community, with hopes of raising awareness.
Bas Tietema, one of the owners of Tour de Tietema, said: “I try to follow my heart in everything I do, but I have noticed both in cycling and outside the sport that a less well-functioning heart can also make you very insecure.
“Unfortunately, you hear stories about heart problems more and more often within the cycling world. Yet not everyone knows how to act when something really goes wrong. We, within the team, didn’t know how to perform life saving actions. With our cycling team, we reach a lot of people, so we wanted to use that reach to draw attention to this current issue.”
As part of the campaign, a free and interactive Augmented Reality (AR) experience will be available, featuring digital versions of the cycling team owners Bas Tietema, Devin van der Wiel, and Josse Wester, guiding users through an eight-step process on how to perform a life saving resuscitation.
With the campaign only launching in Belgium and the Netherlands, it aims to increase survival rates by educating the team’s followers and the wider public.
Lennart Kessels, General Manager Netherlands, Kindred Group, stated: “As a sports betting provider, sports is in Unibet’s DNA. This awareness campaign fits well with our focus on increasing social engagement, and we hope that, together with Tour de Tietema, we can inspire as many Dutch people as possible to complete the AR experience.”
To raise further awareness, the cycling team will wear a custom exclusive jersey, during the Tour of Antalya which features the campaign name ‘Follow Your Heart’ on the chest, hearts on the sleeve, and the eight lifesaving skills incorporated into a heart on the back.
Kindred has worked with a range of sporting organisations in the past on important initiatives to help the community. Last year Kindred and its partner EPIC Risk Management worked with Rangers FC to provide several educational sessions on gambling for the football club’s players and staff.
Dennis Marien, General Manager Belgium, Kindred Group, remarked: “We have previously raised awareness for the eight life-saving skills together with Club Bruges. By tailoring this now to cycling, we hope to educate even more Belgians about the importance of these live-saving techniques. As playing responsibly is one of our key focuses, the link to acting responsibly in sports is evident.”
