Record a podcast? During lockdown? Absolutely.
When Electric Ireland approached us last year about working on a podcast series with them we knew it would be a great opportunity to showcase the work they are doing with their Game Changers sponsorship. The concept was agreed and we decided to wait for the right time to roll it out.
And then 2020 happened.
Both ourselves and Electric Ireland refused to see COVID 19 as a setback and after some creative thinking we decided to proceed with the series, recorded via a mix of video link and smartphone microphones.
Recorded throughout May at the height of the Northern Ireland lockdown, the series would be a chance to speak to local and international sportswomen about their experiences, stories and inspirations.
Working closely with Electric Ireland's PR agency, Aiken, we secured six guests for the series including Hannah Shields, the first Irish woman to reach the North Pole; Ana Carrasco, the first female in history to win a superbike title; and Kely Nascimento-Deluca, documentary-maker and daughter of world-renowned footballer Pelé!
Sports presenter Claire McCollum was to be our host and our first guest would be the Northern Ireland explorer and first Irish woman to reach the North Pole, Hannah Shields. What could possibly go wrong?!
Well actually...nothing!
A few dog barks in the background and some slightly dodgy internet connections weren't enough to cause any major problems and we had our six episodes ready to go.
The series is now live with each of the six episodes going live on a Monday.
You can also visit the dedicated microsite that we built using the mobile and desktop storyteller, Shorthand. We have found that building these sites is an effective way of giving people the flavour of an episode while providing a visually stunning format no matter what device you reach us on.
So get subscribing to catch up on the episodes and if you have any questions about podcasting with Reach, drop us an email.