Objectives

Mental health is one of the major crises of our time. Over the past two decades, rates of people experiencing mental health conditions have risen along with an increase in suicides, particularly among young adults. Even worse, the COVID pandemic has accelerated this crisis, giving way to what many mental health professionals have called the “second pandemic.”

To meet the urgency of this crisis, MTV Entertainment Group (MTVE) convened a coalition of 1,400+ organizations, brands, government agencies and cultural leaders to change the conversation from awareness to action on mental health by creating the first-ever Mental Health Action Day. On May 20, 2021, these 1,400+ partners set out to collectively drive people around the world to take their first action on mental health and create the largest cross-sector moment of action on mental health in history.

As a part of the first Mental Health Action Day, MTVE partnered with TikTok to encourage creators to share how they are taking action to support their mental health. The prompt, #MentalHealthAction, incentivized further creations from the TikTok community as a featured hashtag and when given the spotlight on the platform Discover page.

Strategy and Execution

The digital and social teams at MTV Entertainment Group knew that partnering with an influential platform like TikTok would increase awareness across younger audiences. TikTok's creator-driven platform was the perfect place to encourage users to submit their own examples of how they take care of their mental health.

The challenge was implemented with the following prompt: May 20th is #MentalHealthAction Day, so how are you taking action to support your mental health? It looks different for everyone, so whether you're focusing on wellness or supporting friends, do what feels right for you. Show us your #MentalHealthAction and help inspire others!

Headspace, an online platform that provides sessions of guided meditation to its registered users with the goal of mindfulness, contributed a substantial offering as a part of the challenge. Their first ever free live meditation was featured on TikTok: For the first-ever #MentalHealthAction Day, we’ve partnered with @MTV to encourage and empower people to take action for their mental health. Join us at 10 am PT on #TikTok for a live discussion & meditation: https://hdspce.co/3wnXeIG Ultimately, the goal of this content was to inspire viewers to overcome the common barriers that often prevent people from taking action for their mental health, while driving them to MentalHealthIsHealth.us for evidence-based resources to support them in their journey.

Results

The #MentalHealthAction challenge was featured on the TikTok Discover page, and as a result generated a whopping 195.7M views.

Brands and creators contributed with a variety of content, including (but not limited to):

#BreathingBreaks exercises and meditations from Smithsonian Channel with calming nature and wildlife imagery. Short comedic bites from Comedy Central Stand-Up specials around relatable mental health struggles. Daily affirmations from country music stars on CMT. “Moment of Joy” with Logo Live’s Johnny Sibilly on claiming space for your mental health. Tips from licensed therapists on the TikTok platform to identify and heal trauma, anxiety, depression and other related mental health conditions. Helpful anecdotes shared from well-known personalities, such as Billy Porter. Headspace’s first ever free live meditation, inclusive of a live discussion around the importance of the day. Positive assurances and tips to take action for your mental health from a diversity of creators, influencers and users of TikTok.

Media