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includes posts where Simple Session was mentioned in the text or is shared as part of a post. Within the report, social media platforms such as Facebook open groups and pages, Twitter, Instagram feed, YouTube etc. were included. TikTok, Instagram Stories, VK, and some other platforms were excluded. The most popular channel to mention Simple Session 20 was Instagram, which comprised 44% of the mentions, followed by Facebook with 27% and Twitter with 21% of all tags. Instagram had a surge in Simple Session followers in that period, from 103 000 to 113 000 (across all social media channels Simple Session has currently 273 000 followers). The whole potential cumulative reach of Simple Session 20 during three months was around 422 million people.

“The fact that the number of mentions is nearly three-quarters of a billion is definitely a very positive sign. That's one third more than in 2018 when we ordered a similar survey. And it's a great accomplishment especially with the world's news pages being almost exclusively reserved for pandemic articles from March and onwards. A big part of it unquestionably comes from our 160 athletes from 30 countries, who are media stars and influencers in their own right, with thousands to millions of followers,” said Simple Session organizer Risto Kalmre. - “Social media has been a central part of Simple Session’s communications for years – in organizing the event from year to year, utilizing all the new channels and outlets to spread the word to the right people has been a necessity. Instagram and YouTube have clearly become the most important media channels for our target group,” Kalmre added.

For example, this year a campaign starring Russian Pro BMX power couple of influencers and riders Elizaveta Posadskikh and Roman Khayrutdinov was created. In addition to Simple Session the #EstonianWay campaign promoted active recreation in Estonia.

Nineteen countries published news about Simple Session

The competition was mentioned in the traditional digital media in 19 countries: in total, there were 205 articles in 72 publications, of which Estonia was first, followed by China, USA, Japan, Germany and other countries. A huge number of the mentions came from specialty magazines (FreedomBMX, Action Sports Connection, VitalBMX, Dirtbiker etc), but also from the mainstream media such as Finnish most renowned broadsheet Helsingin Sanomat and international Red Bull channels. Simple Session was widely broadcasted in Japanese television (Japanese National TV NHK, Asahi TV, NTV, and others). This was largely due to the performance of Japanese prodigy Rim Nakamura, who placed first in BMX Park category on his 18th birthday prompting extensive TV coverage from Japanese outlets. Japanese female BMX athlete Minato Oike was also featured in a special show on Japanese National Television. Both athletes are big favorites and potential Japanese hopes for medals in Tokyo Olympic Games. Japanese TV coverage reached an additional 10 million people in Japan.

According to the report, the estimated reach of digital media articles was 313 million people (the basis for estimating the scope of reach is each media channel’s official and reported regular readership).

Webcast and television bring Simple Session to millions of viewers

Simple Session has undoubtedly become one of the most important action sports events in the world, which is supported by the fact that in addition to specialized outlets the event has been featured in full-length broadcasts by NBC Sports, Extreme Sports Channel, Eurosport, as well as important segments on ESPN, Fuel TV, Fox Sports, and MTV.

A significant contribution to media coverage of the event comes from Red Bull and Red Bull Media House, both of which have a huge number of followers on social media: the jointly produced broadcast from Saku Suurhall is watched by an audience of millions on different platforms.

The broadcast with an ever-growing number of viewers each year can be seen in Estonia as well as the rest of the world – audiences are found in 155 countries, the highest numbers of which are in USA, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, etc. For the first time the broadcast was available to watch in 4 languages: English, German, Russian and Estonian. The broadcast internationally is available on Red Bull and Simple Session platforms and in Estonia on Kanal 12 and Postimees, where it was watched by 100,000 viewers.

In Estonia, almost 10 000 visitors attended the event in Saku Arena and in concerts and parties as well as side events all over Tallinn. The finals day on Sunday in Saku Arena on February 9 was sold out. Tickets were bought from thirty different countries and over 1000 fans from abroad visited Tallinn during the event.

Simple Session 20 media campaign was selected among the best five marketing campaigns of the year by Estonia’s Best Marketing conference Marketing Deed of the Year – Password 2020.

Simple Session 21 takes place in less than a year, on February 6–7, 2021. (Given that the situation in the world allows large international events again).