Liming with Gran - Genomics England & Cambridge University
a bespoke dominoes game

Bronze

Title of Entry:	Liming with Gran
Brand:	Genomics England & Cambridge University
Product/Service:	a bespoke dominoes game
Client:	Genomics England and the University of Cambridge
Entrant Company:	Ketchum UK
Entrant Company Country:	UK
Creative Team:	CCO: INDY SELVARAJAH, KETCHUM CD: LUKE WALKER, KETCHUM DESIGNER: DONYA DAVIS, KETCHUM DESIGNER: CRAIG CAMPBELL, KETCHUM DESIGNER: JESS HOBBS, KETCHUM STRATEGIST: JACK STANLEY, KETCHUM EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JACQUI LICORISH PRODUCER: KATIE LOCK, KETCHUM CREATIVE: WOJCIECH GLOMSKI CASTING DIRECTOR: CAMERON CULVER DIRECTOR: TOM DAY, OUTSIDER MD: RICHARD PACKER, OUTSIDER PRODUCER: ISABELLA CULVER, OUTSIDER EDITOR: HASANI FRANKE, WORK EDITORIAL EDIT PRODUCER: LOLA COOKMAN, WORK EDITORIAL PM / POST PRODUCER: MOTUNRAYO SOYANNWO, THE THE MILL GRADE PRODUCER: DAN HILLS, THE MILL SOUND MIX / DESIGN: OLIVER MAPP, THE MILL
Submission Text:	CHALLENGE Genomics, the study of individual genes and their roles in inheritance, has the potential to transform healthcare. But only if people are willing to engage with it. That’s a challenge in the UK’s Black-Caribbean community, where decades of health inequalities and medical discrimination have fostered mistrust and fears that genetic health information could be used against them. So critical health conversations are considered taboo and don’t happen between generations. The silence is costing lives. Rates of poor health among Caribbean men and women are equivalent to those of White British people who are 10 years older. Black Caribbean people in the UK are far more likely to suffer from genetically linked conditions like prostate cancer, diabetes, hypertension and sickle cell disease. These conditions often run in families and could be better managed - or even prevented - if people talked to one another. Genomics England and the University of Cambridge commissioned us to conceive and test pilot an innovative new approach to effectively engage this community and get older and younger generations to open up with each other about family health history. If we could crack the code, our campaign could be scaled with additional funding and partners and potentially save lives in the future. STRATEGIC APPROACH We concentrated our pilot in London, where 300,000, or nearly half of all UK Black Caribbeans, live. Ethnographic research and learnings from COVID-era health messaging made one thing clear: difficult conversations happen only in trusted, emotionally safe spaces. This audience responds most to community and connection – not persuasion, top-down science education or fancy tech gadgets. We took a culture-first approach to identify social behaviours and traditions already embedded in Caribbean life and discovered a fascinating one: liming. In the patois dialect, it means hanging out and enjoying casual conversation and laughter with friends or family (it’s the Western equivalent of “chilling”). Liming is informal, intergenerational, and deeply familiar. While elders may avoid talking about their own health, we knew that they are inherently motivated to protect their children’s and grandchildren’s. So next, we explored untapped mediums that could foster liming – even on sensitive topics like health. CREATIVE EXECUTION We found our solution in an unexpected Caribbean tradition: the beloved game of dominoes – and turned a familiar, trusted way of life that spanned generations of Caribbeans into an exciting new first-of-a-kind health conversational tool. But not just any old dominoes game. Our bespoke set became the world’s first to include scientifically derived questions engraved directly on select pieces to prompt casual health-related conversations into gameplay. Simple human questions ranging from “What would you like to pass on?” and “What runs in the family?” transformed the game into one that was not just entertaining but revealing. A UK-Caribbean designer created different colourways inspired by island history, heritage and art, bringing a sense of harmony and warmth to every game piece. The typeface used on the dominoes was inspired by the lettering on the HMT Windrush ship, which brought the first large groups of Caribbean immigrants to the UK in 1948. To launch the game, we produced a short film featuring real-life Windrush-generation grandmother Jean and her grandson Tré. As they play the game, Jean opens up about her husband’s death from a preventable genetic condition – a conversation she’d never had before. The film premiered at Genesis Cinema during Black History Month. The campaign was amplified by geo-targeted digital OOH across Caribbean neighbourhoods, posters in patois dialect, and QR codes linking to the film. Physical domino sets are now in barbershops, churches, cafés and community centers across London, driving real-world uptake. CREATIVE EFFECTIVENESS Liming with Gran had a big ambition: show that by understanding and creatively leveraging familiar and embedded cultural behaviours and traditions, we could unlock promising new methods to prompt family health conversations between generations which one day can lead to better health outcomes among disenfranchised minority populations, like the UK’s Black-Caribbean community. TARGET ENGAGEMENT The pilot reached 48% of London's 300,000 Black Caribbeans. Among Black Caribbeans exposed to the campaign: - 84% said it made them more likely to talk about health. - 55% said the dominoes were very useful in starting those conversations. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT - The campaign earned 64 pieces of localised coverage in audience-relevant places, including BBC Radio, The Voice, Black Curriculum and Medscape. - We reached 1.1M+ through our digital OOH in partnership with JCDecaux’s Reach programme targeting the Black community. - 2,000+ scanned the QR code to watch the film. - The Mayor of London amplified the campaign on social media, calling it a tool to “build a better, fairer and healthier London.” INSTITUTIONAL ENGAGEMENT - The National Health Service (NHS) has adopted the dominoes as an official health conversational tool that will be used in research projects, initially with prostate cancer and diabetes patients. - Bespoke sets are now in use by Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital, Wellcome Connecting Science Trust (school group engagement), The Kavli Centre (PhD research into sickle cell in the Black community), and NHS Genomics Counsellors across London. POLICYMAKER ENGAGEMENT The pilot’s success is being celebrated throughout the UK’s health system: - Showcased at the UK Health Security Agency’s annual conference. - Shared with public health departments as a best-practice case study in community-led engagement. - Presented at a Department of Health event, and to the UK Government Minister for Health. MODEL VALIDATION - Liming with Gran was considered a resounding success – especially because the pilot is highly scalable and replicable. - Across the ocean, a U.S. pilot is under discussion to reach a large Black-Caribbean community in New York state. - Discussions are underway with partners to explore cost effective ways to scale game production and distribution. - The idea of combining a culturally embedded pastime (like dominoes) with a softly guided conversation is a compelling blueprint that may be employed with other demographics, such as pool in pubs for young white working-class men. With a modest budget of £85k, Liming with Gran proved that a more human, culturally grounded approach can open doors. And in public health, opening the door is where all change begins.
Other Credits:	CLIENT: ANNA MIDDLETON, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CLIENT: VIVIENNE PARRY, GENOMICS ENGLAND