B/REAL is a five-part mini-series of short films at the intersection of sports and society—a glimpse at five Americans who went temporarily viral—but it's also an empathy machine built for social: The internet can make everyday people as popular as their role models, and then there's life after going viral. We wanted to offer a kid from Iowa and a quarterback from Hawaii the same platform as All-Stars and Pro-Bowlers, then give back—in four easy steps:

• tease a connection with known sports personalities to draw attention to real-life heroes;

• tell engaging short-form documentary stories about diversity and inclusion focused on everyday people in sports;

• use influencer platforms to draw attention BACK to premium storytelling (and to the thought-leadership branding of B/R and influencers);

• make detailed donations to push it FORWARD for our heroes' communities (with sponsor support and integration in both viral and live content).

Our social team researched more than 1,000 viral videos. Executive producer and NBA legend Carmelo Anthony selected five heroes who represented 2018's best feel-good moments in sports...then ID'd five top athletes who could connect with them.

Each edition of B/REAL is built around consistent segments, as Anthony calls his famous friends and teases a surprise ending. The storytelling inside is the meat that sticks to your bones, but the guest-star partners are the viral candy: Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, Candace Parker, Chris Paul and more showed up in backyards, living rooms and schools across America to go viral all over again, in powerful moments that make the almost-famous...as famous as them.

With a brand onboard to elevate its own thought-leadership and CSR, we could support give-backs to the everyday heroes while adding sponsor integration into celebrity influence on social and IRL at a live-event premiere.

With Anthony's sign-off, a crew trekked America over seven weeks to produce five 9- to 16-minute films:

• Trashaun Willis went viral, even in Iowa, for dunking with one arm. But he's a star of his own.

• Brehanna Daniels became NASCAR's first black female pit-crew member. She's just getting started.

• Jason Seaman was hailed as a hero for tackling a school shooter. The coach finds common ground on the football field.

• Alexandria Buchanan made history as America's only female starting varsity QB. Now she's fighting for her job.

• Zack Dobson's brother famously died as a symbol of America's gun epidemic. He's a forgotten survivor no more.

Meanwhile, a social powerhouse built a programming campaign on steroids: 170 placements to our 40M-plus followers (in 1-minute celebrity surprises tossing to short films), doubled down with athletes' posts to their own 40M-plus followers (including post-roll from our presenting sponsor).

B/REAL was supposed to be a small but polished digital franchise to amplify local news. With innovative distribution that leveraged influencers to challenge sports fans to think about difficult subjects around diversity and inclusion, the series became a phenomenon—a media-orchestrated harmony at a period of discord.

B/REAL's five stories have been viewed more than 12 million times, with 1 million-plus social engagements—half of each from celebrity accounts.

And B/REAL made a real-life impact: With support from our presenting sponsor, we...

• sent the one-armed phenom to college;

• donated gear to NASCAR's diversity program;

• provided meals and memberships to support survivors of that school shooting;

• rebuilt the bleachers for America's only female starting varsity QB;

• assisted the refurbishment of a recreation center for the late brother of yet another gun violence survivor.

B/REAL's innovative documentary storytelling didn't just create viral moments and memorable films...it created a movement.