Let Them Play

Client

Scottish FA

Services
  • Film
  • Campaign
  • Brand development
  • Social

Teaching parents that sideline behaviour takes the fun out of football.

Let Them Play is the Scottish FA’s campaign to make grassroots football more friendly, welcoming and fun. It brings together everyone involved in the game – players, coaches, parents, referees, clubs and facility providers – under one simple idea: create an environment where kids can enjoy football, feel safe and build confidence.

Our role was to help turn this ambition into a clear, consistent and engaging identity that could live across shirts, social media, video, stadiums and club communications.

Let Them Play Poster Mock Up

Challenge

Research showed that while most children love playing football and feel safe at their clubs, negative behaviours from adults – including parents, coaches and spectators – were undermining their experience.

At the same time, young referees were facing regular verbal abuse, causing many to leave the game altogether. The Scottish FA needed a campaign that could tackle these issues without feeling heavy-handed or corporate.

It had to speak positively to children, set clear expectations for adults, work for multiple audiences and channels, and still feel connected to the “Believe in the Power of Football” brand – all ahead of the new small-sided season.

SFA LTP Logo

Solution

We created a vibrant, youth-first brand identity for Let Them Play, including a flexible logo and our stickers concept to help add an element of fun to our visual identity.

We developed comprehensive brand guidelines covering visual identity, tone of voice and messaging for each audience – players, parents, coaches, referees, clubs and facility providers.

Launch 
Campaign ↓

Following our rebrand of the Scottish FA’s Let Them Play initiative, we were asked to develop campaign assets that would bring its core message to life: creating a positive, supportive environment for young players at grassroots level.

Phase 1: Social-first launch films

We created two short social films that flip the perspective to the children themselves, showing why simple sideline behaviours from parents and coaches matter so much.

The campaign soft-launched through match programme print, with further rollout across clubs’ social channels.

We also explored a game-based app concept to help parents recognise the difference between positive and negative sideline input — a piece of thinking that was warmly received by stakeholders.

 

Phase 2: Coaching and parent guidance films ↓

To build on the momentum, we produced a series of films distributed directly to clubs and coaches via WhatsApp. Each film focused on a different aspect of the campaign:

  • The Game — highlighting the importance of positive coaching, captured through the line: “You never want to be their last coach.”

  • The Journey — reframing how parents talk to their children before and after matches, showing the impact of tone and language.

  • The Team Talk — celebrating the powerful effect a positive, encouraging halftime message can have on young players.

Together, these films reinforced the initiative’s goal: helping children enjoy football, feel confident and supported, and build better relationships with coaches, parents and teammates.

Let Them Ref

We also created the complimentary strand to this initiative which focussed on changing negative behaviour to stop abuse towards young adult refs. The campaign ran in social channels to highlight that refs have the same passion, same dedication and same love for playing football as players, so why treat them disrespectfully.

Watch the film ↓

"We approached Bright Signals to help us shape and support our aim to foster a positive environment for all participants enjoying Grassroots football in Scotland. Through the Let Them Play and Ref creative projects, they have delivered a vibrant and visually engaging campaign that helps us engage with young people and adult participants. Importantly for the Let Them Ref campaign, their work has helped us to support our match officials by working with clubs, coaches, spectators and players to create a safer and more positive environment."

Jack Evans, Brand Marketing, The Scottish FA
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