Finalist
Auntie's Army
Summary of work
Glaucoma is the leading cause of avoidable sight loss, with African-Caribbean communities at up to four times higher risk and late diagnosis a key issue. So we rallied the real MVPs of health advice in the community: the aunties, led by the incomparable Brenda Edwards. The matriarchs who correct you at Sunday dinner and drop wisdom (and warnings) into every family WhatsApp group. Our strategy was simple: replace clinical authority with cultural authority. Instead of another medical PSA, we sparked a community led movement where Aunties championed early eye testing as an act of love, protection and care.
The campaign reached 10.7 million people, generated over 280 pieces of coverage and a 26% above-average social engagement rate. Most importantly, 75% of African-Caribbean community members surveyed said they are now much more likely to book an eye test — proof that when health messaging comes from within a community, it actually moves people to act.
Judges’ comments
‘Auntie’s Army’ was a strong and clear submission with real insights. It had all the elements required to drive real behaviour change and the judges particularly liked that it outlined the KPIs. It had impressive outcomes.
