Connections

Mental health challenges in young people affect entire families. And many parents feel lost in knowing just how to help. They can often experience the same emotions as their teenagers, such as helplessness, loneliness, and uncertainty. “It’s a rollercoaster of different emotions” Mark, parent. In raising awareness of ReachOut Parents, our design challenge was two-fold: -How do we balance the emotional sensitivity of parents with teenagers who are struggling, with a strong message that will inspire action? -How do we talk directly to parents without compromising our relationship with our core audience - young people aged 14-24?

Through simple, visual storytelling we stripped away what was unimportant, and focussed on the one thing that was. Our intrinsic connection with our kids. The decision to cast real families with a strong physical resemblance revealed the underlying strength of familial bonds and helped strengthen our copy lines. Showing the vulnerability of parents helped validate what so many parents go through, and by making it okay to not know what to do, we also made it okay to ask for help. Critical too, was ensuring young people were shown as equals - side-by-side with parents - and endorsing the conversation.

The campaign achieved widespread engagement, increasing visitation by 69%. It sparked critical real-life conversations, drove 38,000 users to the Parents site in the first six weeks, and helped thousands of parents and carers in Australia feel more equipped to support their teenager’s mental and emotional well-being – which consequently, had a positive effect on their own mental health too. - Parent visitation up 69% since the campaign started. - 38,000 users to the ReachOut Parents website in the first six weeks.