Case StudyBBC
Creating audience-first formats for one of the UK's leading media organisations.
ENGAGEMENT: In-house Editorial & Digital Transformation
STRATEGIC ROLE: Editorial & Digital Strategy Lead
Strategy At A Glance
Client
1
BBC - Radio 1, 1Xtra, BBC Music, BBC One and more…
Sector
2
Public Service Media
Engagement
3
In-house Editorial & Digital Transformation
Strategic Focus
4
Audience Insight • Editorial Innovation • Social Strategy • Digital Strategy
Strategic Shift
5
From broadcast-first commissioning to audience-first digital storytelling.
Before founding Forward Slash, Keturah spent six years at BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and BBC Music, working across editorial, digital and strategic leadership roles during a significant period of audience transformation.
As audiences moved towards social platforms and on-demand media, the challenge was no longer simply distributing broadcast content digitally. It was rethinking how editorial ideas were conceived, commissioned and experienced around audience behaviour.
This became an early foundation for the audience-first, editorial and strategic approach that would later shape Forward Slash.
The Challenge
The challenge wasn't becoming more digital.
It was becoming digitally led without losing editorial integrity.
The BBC was navigating a fundamental shift in how younger audiences discovered music, consumed media and participated in culture.
Traditional commissioning and broadcast planning alone could no longer sustain engagement. The organisation needed new editorial formats, stronger collaboration across departments and a more audience-first approach - while maintaining the standards expected of a public service broadcaster.
Perceived Challenge
Keep up with digital.
Create more content.
Promote radio online.
Distribute broadcast across platforms.
Real Challenge
Change how editorial decisions are made.
Design for audience behaviour, not broadcast schedules.
Build formats that earn attention.
The Strategic Shift
Rather than treating digital as a place to distribute existing programmes, the work repositioned audience behaviour as the starting point for editorial strategy.
New formats were designed around how audiences discovered, shared and participated in culture - not simply around broadcast schedules.
FROMBroadcast -first Commissioning
Radio output
Programme promotion
Linear audience journeys
Platform distribution
Editorial silos
TOAudience-first Editorial Innovation
Digital-native formats
Original storytelling
Cross-platform participation
Audience behaviour
Connected editorial ecosystems
Strategic Approach
The work centred on one core principle: Digital shouldn't simply extend editorial thinking - it should shape it.
This translated into five connected areas of strategic focus:
Audience Insight
Using audience behaviour and cultural signals to identify opportunities and shape editorial priorities.
Editorial Innovation
Developing digital-first formats designed around audience behaviour rather than broadcast conventions.
Cross-functional Collaboration
Connecting editorial, production, digital, commissioning and marketing teams around shared objectives.
Creative Experimentation
Building repeatable frameworks that allow teams to test ideas while maintaining BBC editorial standards.
Capability Building
Embedding new ways of working that strengthen long-term digital thinking.
Execution & Delivery
The strategy was applied across original formats, campaigns, programming, live events and wider editorial initiatives.
Projects included developing original digital formats such as My First Bars, leading the end-to-end strategy and delivery of My Mind & Me, contributing to Hot For… and Sounds Like Friday Night, and shaping digital editorial thinking across Radio 1, 1Xtra and BBC Music.
The work also extended into playlist strategy, live events, major music moments and cross-platform audience development spanning Radio 1, 1Xtra, 6 Music, Radio 1's Big Weekend, Glastonbury, Radio 1 in Ibiza and the Radio 1 & 1Xtra Academy.
Rather than isolated campaigns, these projects demonstrated how audience-first editorial thinking could influence commissioning, planning and delivery across a major media organisation.
Strategic Impact
The work helped accelerate the BBC's evolution towards audience-first digital publishing while creating formats and frameworks that continued to influence editorial thinking across multiple brands.
Reach for My First Bars
7M+
Reach for ‘Big Shaq Invades 1Xtra Live’
6M+
Multiple
Across BBC
Original editorial formats commissioned
Radio 1 • 1Xtra • BBC Music • BBC One & more
Organisational Impact
Audience-first editorial formats adopted across BBC brands.
Stronger collaboration between editorial, production and digital teams.
New approaches to commissioning digital-native content.
Contributed to the long-term evolution of BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra and BBC Music's audience strategy.
Digital transformation doesn't begin with technology.
The most effective digital transformation isn't about adding new platforms to existing ways of working. It's about changing how ideas are developed, commissioned and delivered around the people an organisation exists to serve.
That shift was already underway at the BBC. The work helped turn it into a practical editorial approach.