Lifeladder.com, the online personal and professional development e-learning platform is delighted to announce the World’s most huggable countries and towns as revealed by February’s #worldhugathon challenge. 

Goal to Improve Wellbeing & Global Connection in Lockdown

Designed to help everyone, everywhere become more connected and boost their wellbeing during the pandemic this February by sending virtual hugs around the world while we’re unable to travel or be with the ones we love; the campaign’s strapline stated an ambitious objective, ‘one million hugs – one world – one month’.   

By the end of February the campaign had reached a total of 89 countries around the world and six out of the seven continents, even reaching as far as Mongolia and across Africa but it was the UK, the USA and Ireland that dominated the top of the leader board.   

Taking the Leap 

“For many, the target of one million virtual hugs in a month would be seen to be unachievable; perhaps they might not set the target, particularly if they had social media accounts with a small footprint.  At Life Ladder we saw it as inspiration and a driver for action, not just for us, but for all the people taking part,” commented Life Ladder’s CEO, Natalie Rea. 

The total reach of trackable hugs reached in 28 days was 404,412* across Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linked In.  While this was shy of the original target, the company is confident the vision for happiness and connection was fulfilled through reaching 89 countries and all but one of the seven continents. 

“Yes, there have been learnings for the first time out for the campaign,” noted Chief Success Officer, Alison Prangnell. “It wasn’t until we started that we became aware that the many hugs shared on posts and comments to friends via private accounts rather than shared publicly could not be tracked due to data privacy; so we are confident that the real number of hugs reached is considerably higher.” 

The World's Top 10 Most Hug-Friendly Countries 

As the home country of the campaign, it was no surprise that the UK bagged the top spot, however it was not without fierce contention from the USA and Ireland.   

1 UK 

2 USA 

3 Ireland 

4 Slovakia 

5 India 

6 Australia 

7 Canada 

8 South Africa 

9 Portugal 

10 Sweden 

In the United States, Kokomo was declared the most huggable town in North America, beating New York into second place.  The Irish proved their warmth by bagging most of the rankings for cities in Europe. India led the way for Asia as a wave of hugs reached as far as Mongolia.  In the UK, the south-east county of Sussex revealed itself to be hugely huggable with five Sussex towns in the UK top 10.  

“We’re excited to see how big this could become next year,” added Natalie Rea. “Our whole business is founded on the mission of enabling everyone everywhere achieve happiness and success.  To do that, we choose to lead by example.  As a relatively new business, our social media footprint wasn’t large and we had no media support but why should that stop us?  The willingness to have a big idea and take a leap is a powerful act of faith in what’s possible.  If we had decided that the target was too high or would only do it if we were ‘certain’ we would achieve the target, then there would be no challenge or growth, and most importantly, we wouldn’t have achieved the biggest win of all; joy and connection for nearly half a million people in 28 days.  What leap towards an inspirational goal could you take today?” 

•  ENDS     -  

NOTES 

Campaign Statistics 

*Statistic compiled with Keyhole, Facebook Insights, Instagram insights & Linked In Analysis. 

TOP 10 COUNTRIES 

TOP 10 COUNTRIES BY REGION 

TOP 10 TOWNS/CITIES BY REGION 

Top 10 Towns in Sussex, UK 

In the UK, Sussex was the most hug-friendly county, here are the top 10 most cuddly towns. 

1. Brighton 

1. Worthing 

1. Haywards Heath 

1. East Grinstead 

1. Burgess Hill 

1. Crowborough 

1. Crawley 

1. Horsham 

1. Chichester 

1. Bognor Regis 

More information on the campaign can be found here: 

Week one results, background video and video of social shares:  

 
https://blog.lifeladder.com/world-hugathon-reaches-one-quarter-of-the-world