M. Start a Convo. Save a Life – Youth Suicide Prevention:
SITUATION:
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for Washington teens age 15-19. Over 20% of 10th graders have seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months and 10% have made an attempt. In late 2016, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) engaged the entering agency to develop and implement a pilot campaign to address the issue in four rural counties: Snohomish, Pacific, Grays Harbor and Clallam.
STRATEGY:
Two key insights drove the creative team: Four out of five teens who attempt suicide have given clear warning signs, and teenagers are more likely to turn to peers for help. Because of this, the campaign was aimed toward friends of suicidal youth who may be in a position to save a friend’s life just by talking with them.
The campaign tagline: “Start a convo. Save a life” was supported by creative that showed snippets of text conversations between teens, in recognition of the primary ways that youth communicate with one another. This gave teens the tools to look for warning signs, and start the conversation with a friend who may be at risk for suicide.
The integrated outreach strategy included:
Advertising: Mobile display ads, animated social media advertising and static mobile and desktop static display ads.
Video production: A ‘testimony’ video featured two Pacific County teens telling the story of how one youth recognized warning signs and helped his friend get the help he needed.
Tumblr: the agency developed a Tumblr site with teen-friendly content about helping a friend, identifying warning signs, providing support and starting the conversation.
High school outreach: the agency created a series of posters designed to be posted in school hallways and on the backs of bathroom stalls. In addition, the agency produced hundreds of oversized wall decals in the shape of text messages, designed to be posted in school cafeterias, multipurpose rooms and/or public areas as a ‘takeover’ event to spur dialogue and education The first “takeover” events are in the planning stages now.
RESULTS:
The Facebook and Instagram campaign resulted in an extremely high click-through rate of 5.5% with more than 36,000 impressions and more than 2,000 clicks to the Tumblr site. The ads saw a high level of engagement with many commenters tagging friends, and a spike in engagement when the ‘testimony’ video was introduced to the mix. The mobile display campaign delivered 3.2 million impressions with more than 5,200 clicks to the campaign website. The campaign featured an 85% video completion rate—far above industry average.
