From 72 teams to 154 million impressions - here's how strategic content delivered record-breaking results for a global sporting event

Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games: Digital Success on the World Stage

Meet the Client

Event Type:

International Multi-Sport Championship

Scale:

72 teams from across the Commonwealth

Audience:

Global sporting fans across multiple markets

Challenge:

Scalable content production despite varying worldwide rightsholders and restrictions

Timeline

11-day event with three months of pre-event strategy

The Challenge: Global Scale, Local Impact

When the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games needed a digital strategy, they weren't just thinking about one audience - they were thinking about millions of fans across dozens of countries, each with different sporting preferences, cultural contexts, and viewing habits.

What made this complex:

  • 72 teams requiring personalised content approaches

  • Global rightsholders with different licensing restrictions

  • Multi-market engagement across the World, with a focus on India, Australia, Africa, the UK and more

  • Real-time content demands during 11 days of non-stop action

  • Legacy building through the creation of a sustainable digital infrastructure for use beyond these Games

  • Multiple stakeholders, including athletes, sponsors, broadcasters and governing bodies

The pressure was immense:

  • Previous Commonwealth Games had struggled with digital engagemenet

  • Global sporting events face intense competition for attention - and B2022 had a lot, including the Women’s Euros

  • Rights restrictions limited content options

  • Multiple timezones meant 24/7 content demands

  • Athletes and teams had their own social media strategies and demands

Add quote

— Kate

The Deep Dive: What I Discovered

What wasn’t working:

  • Generic highlight reels that looked the same across all sports

  • Focus on official results rather than human stories

  • Content that didn’t account for different market preferences

  • Slow response times to viral moments

  • Limited athlete participation in content creation

Opportunities we identified:

  • Huge appetite for behind-the-scenes athlete content

  • Different sports resonated in different Commonwealth markets

  • Fan reactions and celebrations were highly shareable

  • Real-time moments had massive viral potential

  • Athletes wanted to share their journey but needed support and guidance

Market Analysis

  • 🇮🇳 India: Cricket and hockey focus, high social media engagement potential

  • 🇦🇺 Australia: Swimming and athletics dominance, expectations of high-quality content

  • 🇬🇧 UK: Home advantage narrative, local venue stories

  • 🇿🇦 South Africa: Rugby and running focus, community-driven content performs well

The Strategy: My 4S Framework in Action

Instead of treating this as just another sporting event, we implemented a comprehensive digital ecosystem designed for maximum engagement across all markets.

Share

40% of content

Celebrate the stories and emotions that unite fans across nations

  • Medal ceremonies and national anthem moments made fun

  • Real-time celebrations from athletes and fans

  • Victory reaction videos wrapped with exclusive first interviews

  • Emotional storytelling: pride, resilience and achievement

Smile

20% of content

Inject fun, relatability and a human touch into Games-time coverage

  • Athlete friendships, cultural exchanges and lighter moments

  • Crowd reactions, memes and playful “Only at the Games” clips

  • Mascot adventures and GRWM/DITL style content

  • Viral/trending formats that highlight the Games’ spirit

Support

25% of content

Help fans follow, understand, and engage with the Games

  • Explainers on sports formats, schedules and how to watch or follow each day

  • Athlete prep and behind-the-scenes insights (training, warm ups, etc)

  • Data-driven storytelling (records, stats, historical comparisons)

  • Guides for fan zones, tickets and local cultural experiences

Show

15% of content

Highlight the bigger stage: the host city, community and legacy

  • Iconic shots of Birmingham’s culture and landmarks

  • Community involvement stories and volunteer highlights

  • Partnership activations with schools, local organisations and sponsors

  • Behind-the-scenes visuals on how the Games come together

  • Challenging people to take on Birmingham-themed games and challenges

Capture: Production at Scale

Before our strategy:

  • Limited content creation capacity

  • Split team between CGF and LOC

  • Reactive approach to viral moments

  • Generic content suitable for all markets

  • Slow turnaround time for content and highlights

After implementing my recommendations:

  • 150+ clips produced daily by dedicated teams

  • “Vibes Crews” capturing fan reactions and arena atmospheres

  • Personalised athlete content libraries for immediate sharing

  • Multi-angle coverage of medal moments

  • Real-time editing for near-instantaneous distribution

Amplify: Global Reach Strategy

Platform Optimisations:

  • TikTok: Short-form viral moments and athlete personalities

  • Instagram: High quality visuals and Stories for real-time updates

  • Twitter: Live updates, results, local news and community engagement

  • Facebook: Longer-form evergreen content and livestreaming

  • YouTube: Comprehensive highlights by day and documentary-style content

Athlete Collaboration:

  • Pre-event content creation session

  • Personalised video content for athlete sharing

  • Behind-the-scenes access coordination

  • Post-event celebration content

Stakeholder Integration:

  • Broadcaster content sharing agreements

  • Sponsor integration opportunities

  • National governing body collaborations

  • Media partnerships

The Implementation: Week-By-Week

Pre-Games:

  • Established content creation workflows and team structures

  • Created athlete content libraries and personal brand strategies

  • Developed market-specific content pillars and distribution plans

  • Set up real-time monitoring and response systems

Go Time:

  • Activated 24/7 content creation and distribution systems

  • Launched live social media command center

  • Began real-time athlete and fan content capture

  • Implemented cross-platform content optimization

Games Time:

  • Scaled content production to 150+ daily clips

  • Achieved viral breakthrough with Helen Housby dance content

  • Optimized content strategy based on real-time performance data

  • Maintained 24/7 global audience engagement

Games Wrap:

  • Captured closing ceremony and final medal moments

  • Created legacy content highlighting event success

  • Transitioned to post-event content and athlete celebrations

  • Compiled comprehensive performance analytics and insights

The Results: Transformation in Numbers

Engagement Success

  • 1200% increase from previous Games, unprecedented growth

  • 154m impressions across all digital platforms

  • 78m video views demonstrating content quality and engagement

  • Global reach with 50% increase engagement from India alone

Viral Moments

  • Helen Housby’s dance - 22m Instagram impressions, 45m TikTok views

  • Medal celebration content achieved millions of views per post

  • Behind-the-scenes athlete content driving personal brand growth

  • Fan reaction videos creating community-driven viral moments

Digital Infrastructure

  • 9.7m website users during the 11-day event period

  • 132m page views showing sustained engagement beyond social media

  • 45,934 media files managed through new streamlined DAM system

  • 356 users across teams, athletes and stakeholders with content access

Legacy Impact

  • Sustainable digital infrastructure supporting future Commonwealth events

  • Athlete social media strategy templaes adopted by governing bodies

  • Market-specific content frameworks implemented by other sporting events

  • Content creation workflows now used across multiple sporting properties

The Secret: Why This Worked at Global Scale

Market Psychology Understanding

Instead of one-size-fits-all content, we understood that Indian fans wanted different stories than Australian fans, and created content that resonated with each market's sporting culture.

Athlete-Centric Approach

Rather than treating athletes as content subjects, we made them content partners with personalized libraries and collaborative creation processes - and having them post and collaborate with us gave us more access.

Real-Time Global Optimisation

We tracked performance across all markets in real-time and optimised content strategy based on what was working in each region.

Data-Driven Storytelling

Every piece of content was informed by performance data, audience insights and market-specific engagement patterns.

Scalable Production Systems

The strategy was designed to handle the massive content demands of a global event while maintaining quality and market relevance, and without burning out any of the team!

Behind The Scenes: Content That Delivered Results

“Medal Moment Magic”

Real-time athlete celebration captures with cultural context

  • Average reach was 500% higher than standard highlight content

  • Achieved viral status across Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, showing cross-platform relevance

  • Tailored celebrations for different Commonwealth nations

“Athlete Journeys”

Personal stories from training to podium moments, told from the athletes, their teams and their families - alongside highlights cut with exclusive first interviews from the athletes

  • Engagement rates were 8x higher than generic event content

  • Athletes sharing their own stories amplified reach exponentially

  • Humanised elite sport for global audiences

“Fan Zone Fever”

Community celebrations and crowd reactions

  • 3.2% sharing rate compared to official content

  • Showcased Birmingham as a world-class event host

  • Connected global Commonwealth disaspora

“Parent Perspectives”

Content: What Mums and Dads do at playgroup

Trust-building: Parents could visualise the experience

Anxiety reduction: Showed adults and children happy and cared for

Conversion rate: 60% of Story viewers visited the website

"The transformation has been incredible. We went from worrying about whether sessions would run due to low numbers, to having waiting lists and opening a second location. The content strategy didn't just change our social media - it changed our entire business trajectory."

— Forest School Manager

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