Health awareness at heart of Kindred and Dutch cyclists TDT campaign

Kindred Group plc-owned brand Unibet has launched a new health awareness campaign across Belgium and the Netherlands in collaboration with the Dutch cycling team Tour de Tietema (TDT).

The new project called ‘Follow Your Heart’ aims to boost the public’s knowledge about the potential heart issues that could arise within the cycling community. 

Both entities have developed a specialised online learning tool to deliver on the campaign’s objectives. TDT cyclists will also wear custom jerseys that will bring attention to the importance of heart health. 

An eight-step guide on how to perform resuscitation and increase survival rates in heart failure can be accessed through an Augmented Reality experience, featuring the owners of TDT Bas Tietema, Devin van der Wiel, and Josse Wester. 

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.”

Lennart Kessels, General Manager Netherlands, Kindred Group, also commented on the motivation behind the Unibet and TDT co-initiative: “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.”

Unibet is a title sponsor of the Dutch TDT team. The partners revealed the new jerseys during the Tour of Antalya, with the ‘Follow Your Heart’ logo placed on the chest, and the eight steps to successful resuscitation shaping a heart on the back. 

Dennis Marien, General Manager Belgium, Kindred Group, added: “We have previously raised awareness for the eight lifesaving 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.”

Kindred boasts an extensive portfolio of initiatives that try to raise the safety in sports, with its other high-profile ‘Journey towards Zero’ campaign marking another success at the end of 2023 when it recorded improvements towards bringing revenues from harmful gambling to zero.