UH Law Center Communications and Marketing Team Earns Honors for National Redistricting Media Outreach Campaign
– As Texas became the center of a national redistricting battle, the University of Houston Law Center’s Communications and Marketing team saw an opportunity to connect journalists covering the rapidly developing story with UH Law faculty expertise.
The resulting earned-media campaign, which ran from July through December 2025, generated 694 media mentions, reached an estimated global audience of 1.42 billion and produced approximately $13.2 million in publicity value.
The campaign also earned two industry honors: a 2026 American Marketing Association Houston Crystal Award and a 2026 International Association of Business Communicators Houston Bronze Quill Award of Excellence. The AMA Houston Crystal Awards recognize excellence in marketing strategy and results, while IABC Houston’s Bronze Quill Awards recognize achievement in professional communications.
With guidance from UHLC Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing Carrie A. Criado, Director of Communications Rashda Khan spearheaded the campaign’s media outreach, positioning Assistant Professor David Froomkin as a resource for reporters covering election law, constitutional law and democratic theory. The campaign, titled “Breaking Through the Noise: Positioning UH Law Expertise in National Redistricting Coverage,” demonstrated how timing, faculty expertise and targeted media outreach can expand the Law Center’s presence in national news coverage.
Froomkin’s analysis appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Associated Press, Newsweek and other national and international outlets. His repeated appearances also established him as an ongoing source for journalists covering legal and political developments.
Dean Leonard M. Baynes credited the campaign with helping make UH Law faculty expertise available to a broader public audience.
“These awards recognize the team’s work connecting UH Law faculty with journalists covering complex and consequential legal issues,” Baynes said.
Rather than relying on broad distribution of general faculty pitches, the team developed two targeted media advisories tied to significant developments in the Texas redistricting dispute. The first was distributed in August as legislative walkouts drew national attention. A second followed in November after a federal court injunction blocked Texas’ newly drawn congressional map.
UHLC Marketing Director Dayna Hudson and senior graphic designer Moyin Sekoni contributed creative support to the campaign.
