Audiences Uncovered: Mental Health Awareness
Hello everyone! Last Sunday (October 10th) marked World Mental Health Day, and in this edition of Audiences Uncovered, we wanted to shed light on this central topic and demystify exactly who IS the “mental health sufferer”. Though this audience has historically been “othered” or approached only as DTC-pharma buy, mental illness is a lot more prevalent than you might believe. 1-in-5 Americans experience mental illness, and alarmingly, for certain intersections of Americans (including multiracial and LGBTQ+), that number dramatically increases. As the data will show, this consumer is not an anomaly or a faceless voiceless shadow. They are our neighbors, they are our friends, they are us.
P.S. In light of the ongoing global pandemic, overwhelming burn out, and general malaise over the state of our world, now more than ever it is vital to examine and prioritize our mental and physical well-being. Please take care of yourselves, and be sure to take a look at the Mediabrands Resources Library a one-stop-shop on everything related to mental health and well-being. Be well!
This edition of Audiences Uncovered is ~1,500 words, approximately a 5 minute read
By the Numbers
#1 - Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide (WHO)
1 in 5 Americans experience at least one form of mental illness (NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness)
#11 - Headspace App’s spot on the charts in the Apple app store
44.8% of U.S. Adults with a mental illness that receive treatment in a given year (SAMHSA)
55% of US counties do not have a single practicing psychiatrist (National Council for Mental Wellbeing)
11 years the average delay between symptom onset and treatment (NAMI)
#1 - Mood disorders are the most common cause of hospitalization in the US for adults under age 45, excluding hospitalization related to pregnancy and birth (HCUP: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project )
11% Percentage increase of anxiety-related searches during the first 58 days of the pandemic (CNBC)
241 Episodes of Therapy for Black Girls podcast
Mental Health & COVID-19
With the emergence of COVID-19, the United States was irrevocably altered. The availability of vaccines has allowed for some COVID-19 restrictions to be lifted and a sense of normalcy to return; however, with a surge of new variants, many of us are feeling like we’re living in a time-warp, and for millions of Americans it has left a lasting effect on their mental health. This is especially true among minority populations and for those living in multifamily homes. Itai Danovitch, MD, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, writes “It's often those people who are most disenfranchised to begin with who bear the greatest consequences of new stressors. We're witnessing a real-time example of how social disparities turn into new health disparities."
In July 2020, in the height of the pandemic, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported that 53% of U.S. adults were “worried” and “stressed” about the coronavirus and that it had adversely impacted their mental health. In February 2021, the foundation also reported that about 4-in-10 adults in the U.S. reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, compared with 1-in-10 back in 2019.
Destigmatizing Mental Health
The shared experience of a global health crisis has normalized and destigmatized open mental health conversations. Ad Age reports that “interest in both B2C and B2B marketing in the mental health field has been explosive— encompassing brands, healthcare companies, telehealth services, app makers, and streaming services” and “direct-to-consumer ads for everything from meditation apps to psychotropic drugs have flourished during the pandemic, while a wellspring of emerging tech platforms centered around mental health have focused on marketing their services to healthcare practitioners and insurance providers”. This has opened up a world of mental health related touchpoints as these contextual environments expand beyond the traditional into more innovative territories normally associated with consumer brands, like gaming and experiential.
The Telehealth Effect
During the height of the pandemic, with the inability to seek some medical treatments in person, telehealth services saw an increase in usage in place of in-office visits, including mental health related appointments. Talkspace, an online therapy service, saw +38% growth since the pandemic (entrepreneur.com).
The convenience of telehealth as an option will have long-lasting effects on the future of care, altering not only how people seek treatment but also the ways in which patients can be reached.
“Prior to the public health emergency (PHE), most [providers] were not using telehealth at all: 64% responded seeing zero percent of their patient caseload via telehealth. As of January 2021, 81% of [providers] indicated that they continue to see between 75 – 100% of patients via telehealth”. (APA)
As consumer behavior shifts and in-person office visits decrease, brands’ ability to inform and educate patients through point-of-care channels will decrease too. However, even as in-office eyeballs decrease, there are still many other viable touchpoints along the patient journey. As Kaiser Family Foundation notes, “telemedicine can facilitate a broad range of interactions using different devices and modalities”. In layman’s terms: all is not lost. But, it does mean marketers will have to get creative in their various interception points in order to get their message across and retain brand health and recognition. We’re already starting to see platforms that are ad supported or experimenting with ad supported options—including banner ads and targeted messaging that plays before virtual visits— and it’s only a matter of time before this territory goes from experimental to table stakes.
Social Media & Mental Health
7-in-10 Americans use social media to connect with one another, share information, and entertain themselves (Pew Research Center). With the average American spending roughly 1/3 of their day on online social networks, mental health and topics around mental health have become increasingly salient. These platforms, with their infinite scroll, are designed to grab attention and have been associated with anxiety, depression, and sometimes even physical ailments (McLean Hospital).
Facebook Inc.
Recently, Facebook Inc. has been under increased scrutiny as documents leaked that the platforms— Instagram in particular— were detrimental to young adults. While appearing on Capitol Hill, data scientist Frances Haugen likened the online juggernaut to other industries (e.g. tobacco) that knowingly harms its users, most concerningly, teens and children (The Guardian).
For the past three years, Facebook has conducted extensive focus groups, online surveys, and diary studies of tens of thousands of people, pairing user responses with Facebook’s own data about how much time users spent on Instagram and what they saw there. The Wall Street Journal reports “the studies concluded that some of the problems were specific to Instagram, and not social media more broadly. That is especially true concerning so-called social comparison, which is when people assess their own value in relation to the attractiveness, wealth and success of others” (WSJ). Social comparison is particularly pervasive on Instagram, as that content primarily focuses on lifestyle, whereas other platforms are grounded in more diverse content, like entertainment, cultural conversations, or AR/messaging functionality.
TikTok: A New Frontier
As TikTok has grown from infancy to adolescence, it is now much more than a place to just view the latest viral dance moves. Among its users are creators with varying levels of expertise across a wide range of subject matter— including cooking, language, and even foraging. For the largely Gen Z audience, it also has become a place to seek help. Post 2020, there has been an increase of mental health professionals joining the TikTok community offering tools and strategies to manage mental health, and in many ways, allowing the platform to become a gateway to traditional therapy. As Micheline Maalouf (@mashmushe), a licensed therapist with 1.1MM followers shared with The New York Times earlier this year, “Mental health content has flourished on [TikTok] during a year when everyone’s been high-functioning depressed.” The Times observes “while therapists have gained popularity on Instagram and YouTube in the past, TikTok offers a more immediate sense of intimacy. ‘People are posting in their pajamas,’ [Micheline] said. ‘It’s a different connection’.”
Below: Mental health professionals turned TikTok stars
Marketing Implications
So with the multitude of ad support social networks and their various contributions to mental health and wellbeing, what is the responsible thing for marketers to do? Well, firstly, keep in mind that all networks aren’t created equal. Also, understand that social networks are neither inherently nor unequivocally “bad”. For all of its perceived negative effects, social media has also done a lot of good. It has democratized knowledge and resources and for millions of users made mental health management strategies both more accessible and more normalized. With any marketing tactic, there is a level of discernment and vigilance needed. To put it plainly— you have to read the room. Publishers that are taking positive action towards user health are obviously preferred choices over environments that exploit and harm its users, but surprisingly it’s not always easy to tell the difference. This is why we as agency partners are more important than ever. It is our responsibility as media experts to keep abreast of the landscape so that we can make informed investment decisions on behalf of our marketers.
Brands Responding To Social Media’s Impact
The impact of social media on mental health has no doubt inspired the “No Retouch Movement”, garnering participation from brands like Dove, Olay, Aerie, and most notably retailer CVS.
In 2018, CVS announced with their Beauty Mark initiative that they will no longer photoshop imagery created for their stores, websites, social media and marketing materials (People). In 2021, the retailer reported that they reached the goal of 100% compliancy in requiring companies that sell products in their 2,000+ stores in taking the same stance regarding image altering (Popsugar).
In the next phase of the initiative, CVS focused their sights on the impact of women’s mental health due to increased screen time. In partnership with media psychologist Dr. Pamela Rutledge and The Harris Poll, they conducted a survey among women ages 18-35 aiming to uncover what transparency in beauty means for women now that the pandemic has changed how we work, attend school, and socialize (CVS). What they found was that one-third of these young women report feeling less confident about their appearance than they were in the year prior. However, there are things they can and do do to feel better about themselves — including seeing unaltered photos of others online and doing a beauty routine, providing a blueprint for how this demo wants brands to show up in media and support them.
Mental Health Awareness in Media
For Gen Z, their values lie at the center of their purchasing decisions (McKinsey). As their influence and spending power increases, they are keenly aware that they have more than enough options in deciding who to spend their money with and ultimately chose retailers they most connect with. Because younger generations are much more open to discussing their mental health challenges and diagnoses than older audiences (Very Well Mind, APA)— who sometimes still hold onto the stigma surrounding mental health—they expect brands to be too.
The increased attention to mental health within the overall zeitgeist presents an opportunity for brands, which are at their most impactful when they’re able to nimbly respond to shifts in cultural values. Brands can position themselves as allies by partnering with organizations and charities that speak to this group’s interests— enabling them to maintain relevance through participation, rather than simply observation.
For examples of how brands can play in this space, please see below for some recent branded activations.
ConnectRN announced a partnership with talkspace in honor of World Mental Health Day. The partnership marries the leader in online therapy with a critical community of nursing professionals to bring online therapy to well-deserving nurses and aides (Yahoo).
Angry Birds Friends is collaborating with the World Health Organization for World Mental Health Day, the game will feature a new Self-Care Tournament. (Pocket Gamer)
Whole Foods x Headspace the collaboration includes a mood-brightening IGTV recipe series called Food for Mood, three new meditations focused on mindful shopping, cooking and eating, a one-month free trial of Headspace and more. (Whole Foods)
Additional Connection Points for Marketers
As the below examples illustrate, there are many other activation opportunities for marketers to engage with these consumers across the key behavior states of watch, read, listen, interact, and experience. And due to the scale of the audience, it goes beyond just the niche to more and more mass reach channels.
Extra Credit Reading
What Brands Need To Know: The Mental Wellness Journey (Ad Age)
How Teens Are Getting Help With Their Mental Health On TikTok (MSN)
How The Ad Community Can Confront The Mental-Health Crisis (Ad Age)
[Podcast] Mental Health: What Consumers Want and How Brands Navigate the Landscape (Mintel)
How Culture And Race Can Impact Identifying And Treating Mental Health Conditions (Youtube)
The COVID Pandemic Is Highlighting Men's Mental Health And How They Can Seek Help (CNN)
How Has Social Media Affected Mental Health During The Pandemic? (Medical News Today)
The Money Behind Mental Health: How The Pandemic Increased Innovation, Investment In Behavioral Health Care (Fierce Healthcare)