The Wayside Chapel is a charity and parish mission of the Uniting Church in Australia in the Potts Point area of Sydney, Australia. Situated near Sydney's most prominent red-light district in Kings Cross, the Wayside Chapel assists people on the margins of society suffering from challenges such as loneliness by offering programs and services to ensure access to health, welfare, social and recreation services.
In the wake of a landmark report that revealed 1 in 3 Australians experience loneliness, Wayside Chapel wanted to develop a response that would help raise awareness around this critical public health epidemic and promote widespread behaviour change.
A steady decline in face-to-face social interactions over the last 20 years has seen Australians sleepwalk into a loneliness epidemic. We’ve found ourselves in a world where technology and click-and-collect conveniences have robbed us of organic and vital opportunities to connect with other people. And while experts recommend 60 minutes of social interaction each day, our research revealed that 70% of Australians were falling short of that mark.
We knew that everyone had the ability to cure loneliness. They just didn’t realise it.
So we developed Social60, a daily benchmark of 60 minutes of face-to-face social interaction akin to public health guidelines around daily steps and sun exposure.
Backed by prominent Australian psychologists and neuroscientists, the campaign broke down the stigma around loneliness and introduced a concrete, easy-to-remember goal to help a nation fight back.
Social60 launched on the UN’s International Day of Happiness with a social stunt featuring one of Australia's biggest influencers, Tully Smyth. By subverting the popular ‘Day In The Life’ TikTok trend, Tully blindsided her audience with the fact that loneliness can hide in plain sight. Her post blew up, fueling discussion and inspiring countless real stories to emerge which we compiled into a hero film for Wayside’s channels.
The campaign also involved creators, media personalities and key opinion leaders to break the stigma, amplify the message across social, digital, radio and TV. We supplemented this activity with content offering practical tips for seeking social interactions and tackling loneliness, encouraging everyone to ‘get their Social60’.
Social60 effectively shifted the dial on the critical issue of loneliness delivering over 100 million earned impressions in PR, and reaching 5.3 million Australians on TikTok, generating 9 million views and 31 million impressions.
The campaign provided valuable guidance and tips for overcoming loneliness, driving 4 thousand video saves on TikTok and over 113 thousand clicks to the Social60 website, making a significant impact in promoting well-being and fostering meaningful connections.
