Many have experienced fear, anxiety, and uncertainty due to the pandemic, leading people to become increasingly comfortable talking about their mental health. But, the topic of suicide is still scary for many people.
Research shows us that by learning about what leads someone to suicide, the ways we can help prevent it, and about available resources, we can empower communities to address this leading cause of death and together, we can help stop suicide.
Inspired by this mission, we embarked on a months-long journey to share information, start conversations, and provide education around the topic of suicide prevention.
At the heart of this effort, AFSP hosted our World Suicide Prevention Day Live: an all-day Facebook Live event on September 10th, World Suicide Prevention Day.
The event not only brought together communities and perspectives from around the world at one place and one time, but it also raised a significant amount of money for our organization, which goes toward further research, advocacy efforts, education and loss support programs, and more. We far surpassed our goal of securing 10 panelists for three hours on Facebook live and featured over 30 panelists with diverse backgrounds across research, entertainment, advocacy and more, during an eight hour livestream. This allowed us to diversify the topic area and reach people at different times of day, making the event more inclusive in both ability to tune in and breadth of perspective shared.
The campaign was brought to life over the course of nearly three months across a vast ecosystem of channels, with creative assets and messages tailored to each platform and audience.
Bringing community together to create opportunities for connectedness, storytelling and deeper conversations about mental health was at the heart of our strategy, and we needed to do so in a way that respected comfort levels surrounding distancing through engagement opportunities that have both physical and digital experiences available for everyone.
Awareness began in early August, building momentum for our hero campaign event: World Suicide Prevention Day Live.
On World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th, AFSP hosted an all-day Facebook Live event from 12pm to 8pm ET, bringing together communities and perspectives from around the world at one place and one time. The event featured over 30 panelists with diverse backgrounds across research, entertainment, advocacy and more.
Conversation then continued throughout the fall and was reignited during partner events and through influencer engagement.
AFSP partnered with mental health-inspired apparel company Self-Care Is For Everyone on a collection of campaign apparel, with 100% of net profits benefiting our organization.
The collection generated 1,437 sales and $3,687 for AFSP
AFSP also co-created educational social content to help spread suicide prevention and mental health best practices, culminating in an Instagram Guide launch on World Mental Health Day (October 10, 2021).
In addition to our social activations, AFSP:
Partnered with Jessica Goldsmith (@chickofalltrade), a Brooklyn-based illustrator, graphic designer and mental health advocate, to bring our campaign theme to life through a visual direction that is uplifting and inspires positive conversation about mental health and suicide prevention.
Distributed toolkits to our network of supporters, including volunteers, staff, partners, and influencers to help drive conversation and reach new audiences. The toolkits provided guidance for spreading the word across different touchpoints, and included a package of creative assets for print, digital and social use.
Partnered with audio and visual therapy company SoundMind for their Un-Heard Mentality concert on October 21, 202, which raised $6,400 for AFSP NYC. With the help of our New York City Chapter, we also tabled at The Brooklyn Bowl with an interactive activation, giving guests the opportunity to share messages of hope.
Partnered with entertainment organization Audacy to raise over $800,000 for AFSP. On October 23, 2021, entertainment organization Audacy hosted their annual We Can Survive concert at the Hollywood Bowl with performers including Coldplay, Doja Cat, Maroon 5, Black Eyed Peas, Shawn Mendes, The Kid Laroi, and Saweetie, with all proceeds going towards our organization. AFSP made a splash at the event with in-show announcements and campaign creative as well as an interactive on-site activation that encouraged attendees to share messages of hope.
We were able to successfully engage individuals, communities, organizations, and media with a global reach to raise awareness for suicide prevention and broaden the conversation around mental health.
The Facebook Live event was a huge success, ultimately raising $37,795 for AFSP – surpassing our goal of $30,000 – via email and our social media.
We reached 245,260 people – surpassing our goal by 150%. Stemming from the event, we also garnered:
130,300 Video Views
373,226 Impressions
5,923 Engagements
456 Peak Live Viewers
Additionally, sponsored and earned influencer partnerships helped amplify conversation across social media to new audiences and communities.
Influencers spread word about our World Suicide Prevention Day Live, shared their own connection to AFSP’s mission, and provided mental health resources to their following.
Between 26 unique influencers’ 96 posts, their AFSP content received:
3,222,292 Impressions
110,291 Engagements
$10.30 CPM
Throughout September and on World Suicide Prevention Day, media, celebrities, and other organizations helped amplify our message. Pearl Jam, VH1, CVS Health, Katie Couric Media, Crisis Text Line, TODAY, BET, Men’s Health and many others shared our message and our World Suicide Prevention Day Live event to their owned channels.
Over the entirety of the two-month campaign, between AFSP and our partners, we garnered:
6,908,825 Blended Impressions
482,460 Engagements
43,805,086 Total UVM from earned media
AFSP also received over 16,000 new followers across our social media accounts.
