Work / Mind

The whole issue of mental health at work is ‘the elephant in the room’ - one that exists but is too often ignored. Using digital and social media, we got people to notice an invisible elephant. And by acknowledging its presence, prompted them to acknowledge and discuss the subject.

Tempt
We created a page for ‘the elephant’ that represents the subject of mental health on Facebook.

We sent out an email that encouraged people to befriend him, then tag him into the background of friends' photos. Friends then receive an alert that the elephant has been tagged in their pictures. Clicking on the tag in the photo links back to a ‘don't ignore the elephant in the room' message on the elephant’s profile page. The elephant also checked in to offices on Foursquare to see who would acknowledge him.

Engage
All activities led back to the Mind website, where more information was available about improving mental health for everyone at work. First and foremost of which is to acknowledge the subject even exists. You could also follow the elephant's regular updates on Twitter, with positive, simple steps to promoting mental wellbeing in the workplace.

Build
We encouraged people to use our simple invisible elephant photo tagging idea on Facebook to spread the message virally - and bring it to the attention of as many of their friends as possible.

Results
Thousands of people befriended the elephant (current friends – not likes, actual friends, number 3578). The Mind website received a record number of hits for the duration of campaign. Better still, a lasting community was created where people still turn to on a daily basis – either looking for or looking to offer support for people affected by mental wellbeing issues.

Total page visits during week of activity 66,904 (2010 was 46,319)
Increase in sales and donations during week of activity £209,000 (14% up on target of £182,789)
Total cost < £2000, less than the price of a display banner.

Though our actual aim was purely to raise awareness of the issues and direct to the Mind website for one specific week, the campaign has been adopted by Facebook visitors. They have used the Elephant page as a new community that people visit on a daily basis looking for help – and find it from other visitors. This is some four months past the single week of activity we actively engineered.

And all this was achieved for less than the cost of creating a single display banner.