VT ‘Local Super Heroes’ for 2018 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Unsung Hero Award. Produced by BBC Sport

I am an active supporter of the transformational impact sport has on people and communities. Through the Sports Personality of the Year Award, we celebrated those who are improving their communities through sport. Bringing sport charities into the fold moved us closer to rewarding impact and supporting the Sport for Development agenda.

Owning a prestigious award for a premium broadcast brand, and repositioning it takes great care and imagination. Leading on the campaigns each year, and the live event activations on the red carpet, I brought Unsung Hero to under-represented audiences while remaining mindful of the high regard the award was held in by audiences.

Setting the creative theme, in the VT, here ‘Local Super Heroes’, and co-ordinating a four nations BBC campaign with sector partners, Unsung Hero was regularly well-received by BBC audiences. As with all my work it is vital to look for the stories that can really land. We covered tricky subjects, including youth mental health, isolation in struggling communities, care-experienced people, and communities at risk from criminal gangs. This period took in the pandemic, and also the death of Sgt Matt Ratana, who was also a cherished rugby coach, needing delicate communications to ensure we served the stories appropriately.

With a nomination-based campaign, look at who you want to see put forward and target their network, the secondary group. With this in mind, we worked with people like Adele Roberts , Jamal Edwards, Abbie McCarthy and others, as well as Olympic legends like Jessica Ennis-Hill and Adam Peaty.

LONDON MARATHON

Working with the London Marathon team, and BBC Marathon team, we put more light on the everyday heroes raising funds for personal causes close to them. As well as pre-race features, I adapted the tone of the coverage online, to bring the non-elites to the fore, and integrate finish line cameras into the live text coverage. In doing so we achieved record audiences and ensured the people using sport to improve their community got the platform they deserve.