The Leith Agency launched a grassroots campaign in March to drive home the message that when it comes to sporting cardiac arrests seconds count and to educate and share knowledge about CPR – focusing on when it might be needed in a sporting context and how to properly perform it – led by its ‘Extra Time Badge’.
Following a raft of recent high profile cardiac incidents at football matches which has seen the quick intervention of medical professionals save lives, the agency focused on addressing the same challenges in grassroots football where there is typically no medical expert support and where players lives are left either to chance, or to fellow amateur players and supporters.
The project looks to educate and raise awareness in as many grassroots clubs as possible and the ‘Extra Time Badge’ itself aims to address this problem by acting as an on-pitch prompt of where and how to perform the life saving techniques.
The initiative began as an agency passion project, and as it evolved it was developed with support and input from various amateur clubs and grassroots leagues.
The objective was to make the badge as inclusive as possible so that any sports organisation can take part and any player (over the age of eight) can use their platform to reach as many people as possible and the aim is simple – to get the badges onto as many shirts as possible.
Designed to simply be ironed onto jerseys in the centre of the chest – where CPR is performed – each kit badge gives instructions to push 100-to-120 times per minute at 5-to-6cm in depth and the agency’s ‘Extra Time Badges’ are free to order either individually or in team packs of 18.
The campaign launched in March primarily through video and a series of image led social content pieces plus a PR push and within a few days the agency had already received orders for over 500 badges.
The initiative was informed by data revealing that while 350,000 cardiac arrests occur in the UK outside a hospital (with 40% of those affected under 18), 38% of adults wouldn’t perform CPR due to a lack of knowledge of the procedure despite the fact that, for every minute without CPR and de-fibrillation, a person’s chance of survival decreases by around 10%.
“The initial idea came about after the horrific incident that everyone witnessed with Christian Eriksen in the UEFA Euro finals last year. After watching the incident unfold, and talking to friends and colleagues that work with grassroots clubs, it became apparent this wasn’t something out of the ordinary. Whilst professional footballers have instant access to medical experts, at a grassroots level this isn’t always the case,” recalled Leith Creative Director John McPartland. “The idea has been through various iterations, but fundamentally it has always been how do we create something that will give as many people the confidence to perform CPR when needed?”
The agency initially invested in the project as a company and after the design, development, promotion and the first production run of badges, the agency is looking to partner with professional clubs to provide badges for more clubs in their local areas.
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