Millions would watch the Rio 2016 event on TV.

Research told us that when viewers really get into sport, they identify with their heroes and feel part of the team.

But we realised that for previous Olympics, people were held back from participation by inertia, self-image and lifestyle obstacles.

So we designed a campaign that:

(1) Used communications built around the rallying-cry "I Am Team GB" to heighten the sense of involvement and belonging.

(2) Created a potent ‘nudge to action’ in the form of a unique, free, one-day event, the nation’s biggest-ever sports day. It was open to all and it allowed everyone to feel comfortable, whatever their shape or size, sampling sports alongside both super-fit elite athletes and out-of-shape TV celebrities, at a network of clubs and venues all over the country. As an extra nudge, ITV switched off all of its channels for an hour.

IATGB launched on ITV daytime, followed by two TV ads. One thanked people for playing the lottery and funding Team GB. The second announced the Sportsday and invited people to sign up for the team.

Olympic heroes reinforced the rallying cry on social media.

Celebrities appeared in TV ads as recruiters for the event.

Partners’ social media channels and posters in 47,000 stores celebrated Team GB wins, thanked the public for their funding and directed audiences to participate.

A geo-targeted digital poster campaign, supported by radio, directed people to their nearest event.

PR helped trigger conversation and participation. IATGB was front-page in The Telegraph, double-page in The Sun, Radio 5’s story of the week and top of BBC news online on the day.

Hundreds of famous names tweeted support.

Every time #iamteamgb was used, people received a personalized message from an Olympian thanking them for their support and inviting participation.

The biggest mass-participation sports event ever.

*Nearly 1M people tried everything from aerobics to yoga

*52% of participants described themselves as ‘non-sporty’

*The previous world record-holder, Race for Life, attracted just 125,000 participants

Participants continued to move:

*4.1 million say they were inspired to be more active

*85% said they’d participate again

*56% are still doing more exercise

*13% have joined a sports club

It got the world noticing:

*#Iamteamgb trended at UK’s no.1 for 3 hours and worldwide Top10

*2263 articles, a reach of 108M and Advertising Value Equivalent of £17.75M

*3x more Twitter mentions of ITV and Team GB vs. C4 and Paralympic/Team GB

TNL sales were up 5% for 2 months after the campaign:

*Equated to an additional £49M, of which £12.5M was for good causes. (judges eyes only)

*Awareness of TeamGB funding increased from 28% to 63% and 74% amongst those aware of Sports Day.