From the Nominator

The University of Glasgow used planning, team management, and on-target communications strategies to reach their goal of driving their world-class football dementia research over the line in style. Football’s Influence on Lifelong health and Dementia risk is no ordinary research study. The research found that former professional footballers had an increased risk of dementia. The brief was to make the story global to gain media coverage, lay the groundwork for real world impact, and maintain total control of the message amidst intense media pressure. All of this had to be done while maintaining the complete secrecy of the plans, the project, and all details of the research. This meant navigating discussions and negotiations with powerful funders, wrangling with a world-class journal, and creating a communications plan that would deliver the message in one global announcement. For strategic and information security reasons, the project was contained within a small group in the university’s Communications and Public Affairs Office. Strategic what-if work-through scenarios and detailed planning brought the whole media and social media team together on one day as a seamless unit.

From the Judges

An excellent entry and campaign! Loved how this well planned and executed campaign led to real change in the youth sports world and greater awareness internationally about the dangers of young people doing headers. Really well done, especially keeping the focus on the university when that so easily could have been lost. Loved how well-designed they positioned the campaign. Really an amazing effort. Outstanding innovative advocacy campaign with level of stakeholder engagement that indicates success in efforts to produce impact in terms of new guidelines to save young lives. Applauding the strategic collaboration of the FIELD partners and the caliber of the project and research angle from connecting to the New England Journal of Medicine and decision-making around Glasgow. Congratulations to the success of the robust media and social media plan that was so well executed, and results driven. I think this did an excellent job of identifying a problem and creating awareness. I like the idea of keeping it in Scotland compared to London. At first, I thought it territorial but now think it kept focus more affixed on the issues of child and brain health. This was really impactful and well-done.