Surrey School Games

Surrey County Council

Background

Surrey County Council hosted Olympic style games across it's primary, secondary and special educational needs schools over the course of three years (during my employment). Inspired by the spirit of London 2012, these games aimed to instill a passion for sports among the youth.

I took on the crucial task of promoting the Surrey School Games to educational institutions across the county, urging them to participate and emphasising the multitude of benefits that come with involvement. I skillfully communicated event details to children, parents, and teachers. I established the games as a prestigious and highly anticipated event, much like professional sports competitions. The ultimate goal was to elevate the status of the games and evoke a strong sense of pride among the children participating.

Results

The highest number of schools signed to county Olympic style games
Word Record for Largest Human Olympic Rings
Word Record for Largest Human London 2012 Logo
500,000 weekly visits to the microsite and over 2,500 subscribers to the newsletter

Press coverage

Your Local Guardian - Mark Cavendish backs Surrey School Games
Your Local Guardian - Surrey school kids to compete in P&G athletic finals
BBC - Video: Human Olympic Rings Record at George Abbot School
Mirror - The kids are alright: 2,012 schoolchildren recreate London 2012 Olympic logo
The Telegraph - Pictures of the day

World Record for the largest Human Olympic Rings

Creative approach

Routine comms

I established an Olympic microsite dedicated to delivering essential information such as league tables, schedules, and general news to highlight the participants. To drive traffic, I confidently crafted and scheduled a series of publications based on major announcements and press releases. These were complemented with guest blogs, interviews with local Team GB athletes and local kids, other news sources, and videos.

Branding and advertising

To elevate the prestige and professionalism of our events, we designed branded advertising boards to be showcased around play areas such as football pitches and basketball courts. Furthermore, we successfully secured sponsorship from industry powerhouse Proctor and Gamble to provide vital funding for these events.

Printed publications

Interviews with young Olympians and Paralympians were featured in local magazines to captivate children and parents. These exceptional athletes were also invited to attend events in order to encourage and motivate child participants.

Publicity stunts

Press attention was secured through the following activities. These were organised to elevate the games in the eyes of would be participants and secure their interest in signing up.

Feedback

"I worked with Martyn on the London 2012 campaign and was impressed with how he flourished in such a high profile project! It was a joy to have him on board and I recommend him for any communications project."

Denise Saliagopoulos
Elected Councillor