The Conversations

Accountability. I expanded The Conversations in year two, working within an established programme, then developed the format and delivered the full Chats series.

Decision. I moved The Conversations from relying on one long episode towards one-to-many distribution, while keeping each expert answer coherent.

Evidence. Two recordings became 33 assets across five formats and six channels. The work reached audiences in 44 countries, and reporting showed shorter formats retained attention better than the long-form edits.

Chapter one: The Conversations

Problem

Retention, not reach

The Conversations was already an established expert-led programme when I joined for year two. A long episode could carry the full discussion, but it was not enough on its own to build retained attention across different viewing contexts. Reach told us that people had encountered the work; retention told us whether the format was earning their time.

Constraint

The editorial value had to stay intact as the programme travelled across six channels. The public case also needed to show the work without disclosing internal spend or partner detail.

Decision and delivery

I expanded the long-form programme into a one-to-many distribution system: complete contributor answers, question-led chapter edits and supporting creative shaped for different viewing contexts. From two recordings, I produced 33 assets across five formats and six channels. I wrote briefs, handled edits and creative assets, and led the brand refresh with the creative director, including animated end screens, lower thirds and thumbnail variants for testing.

Result

The programme reached audiences in 44 countries. Reporting showed that the shorter formats retained attention better than the long-form edits. That data informed the next production cycle: which answers warranted their own edit, what should remain long-form and where a different format or thumbnail merited testing.

Chapter two: Chats

Ownership

I developed the question-led format, with a question appearing on screen followed by two people answering it, and delivered every episode end to end. That work covered briefs, production, edits, distribution and performance reporting.

Result

Chats received SSP EPIC Gold for Video/Film. The recognition belongs to Chats and is separate from The Conversations performance evidence above.

What’s next

The next cycle is to keep using retention evidence to choose the right length, edit and distribution context before production begins, while preserving the clarity of the Chats question-led format.

Source note: Asset, format, channel, country and retention figures come from Kate Allen’s year-two programme reporting. The videos below are official Wiley uploads, and the production photograph was supplied by Kate for this portfolio. Internal spend and partner detail are intentionally omitted.