BT Group wanted to transform its leadership standards from static PDF into something more memorable and engaging for its 5,000-employee digital department. It wanted to reimagine the standards in a way that would resonate with employees and prompt action after a period of low engagement. There was a sense that employees had become fatigued with online content, so a purely digital approach was unlikely to succeed.

Working with Powered By Humans, it came up with a six-part ‘mockumentary’ series called 6 Fothergill Street, which turned the leadership standards into something humorous. Each episode turned common housemate situations such as leaving dirty dishes into metaphors for leadership lessons. They included direct-to-camera interviews and fourth-wall breaks, with the characters encouraging the audience to reflect on their own leadership experiences.

To further boost engagement, the team supplied employees with printed learning journals for their reflections, including QR codes to link them back to the digital videos. The campaign also included a Teams messaging bot to prompt employees to interact with the videos and engage with their journals. Each flatmate represented a different colleague persona and aspect of leadership, creating a personal connection with employees. Within two weeks of launch, 65% of the 5,000 employees had watched the videos, and a 6% increase in employees feeling confident in living the leadership standards.