Campaign to Improve the Mental Health of Americans
Social Action Campaign: Provide information, support and action for people looking to improve their mental health and emotional well-being
Productions, WGBH NOVA Science and Kunhardt McGee Productions Vulcan Productions, an independent film production company founded by Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, finances and produces feature films, documentary projects and other innovative programming. The company is a long-time collaborator with WGBH Boston, and the two groups have co- produced a number of award-winning projects including Cracking the Code, Evolution and Rx for Survival. Vulcan most recently partnered with WGBH to produce a captivating three-part PBS series on mental health and well being in America. The series, called This Emotional Life, aired the week of January 4th, 2010. 10 million people viewed the series during its premiere week, and the series stood as the #9 top- selling television series on iTunes for weeks following the broadcast. The series addresses issues organized around improving social relationships, resolving negative feelings (depression, anxiety, etc.) and searching for greater happiness. Each of the three shows in the series includes case studies and explanations of the latest science and understanding by leading experts in their fields. By the end of the series, viewers are left with a deeper sense of what makes us “tick,” along with insights into paths to happiness, resilience and overall emotional and social well-being. Leading up to the broadcast, Cause & Affect worked to develop an ambitious outreach campaign to move the project beyond the initial airing - using the momentum generated by the premiere to provide information and useful tools for those in need. Through its wide-ranging online and offline strategy, the outreach campaign - extending two years post-broadcast - leads users toward trustworthy material about emotional wellbeing and helps them build and connect to social support networks (both online and off), find solutions for personal problems and use social media tools to mitigate the stigma attached to mental disorders. The campaign includes a specific focus on two core issues – offering toolkits in the areas of early childhood attachment and the emotional health of our military families during deployment. Online marketing and community efforts also include a successful webinar speaking series, partnerships with The Huffington Post – which has dedicated an entire section to This Emotional Life content and blogs for the next year – and a bi-monthly newsletter with original content on mental health and wellness topics. The site - headquartered at pbs.org/thisemotionallife - attracted more than a million visitors in the first week of the show’s launch, and the social media campaign continues to beat records for a PBS series. The series has gone on to win an Accolade Award for Best in Show documentary program and has been nominated for the Voice Award, honoring those who make a difference for Mental Health. The website has been nominated for a Webby for Best Health site up against such giants as the Mayo Clinic and WebMD. And the entire cross-platform project was nominated for a Banff World Television Award. Visit the Website |
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