Ex-tension : exercise to release tension

Abstract

This paper presents Ex-tension: Exercise to Release Tension, a communication campaign organised by four final year students from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. The campaign goal is to increase the engagement of exercise as a form of stress management among university students aged 18 to 26 by reducing their barriers of exercise – time-consuming and prioritization of other activities – as identified from the formative research. The big idea is to encourage participants to prioritize exercise by branding it as a fun, active and healthy activity that does not take up a large amount of time. The key message is to promote the optimum time of exercising 30 minutes, 5 times a week, to activate hormones that help reduce stress levels. The campaign utilised mascots Stresso and Stressno, to communicate the campaign’s key messages, and highlight the importance and benefits of exercise as a fun, active and healthy method of stress management. The campaign achieved a slight decrease in the barriers of prioritising other commitments over exercise and perceptions of exercise being time-consuming. The decrease in barriers is likely to have led to an increase in self efficacy, which increased the intention to exercise to manage stress. As it is difficult to lower barriers within a short time period, the slight increase in intention can be viewed as important as the campaign has taken the first step in promoting positive mental health through the healthy method of exercise.