[Trigger warning: suicide]

Winner: Best Not For Profit/Charity at The Drum Out of Home Awards 2022 

A British man dies of suicide every two hours. It’s the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.

As part of Media Bounty’s ongoing pro bono initiative, we work with charities and not-for-profits close to our team’s hearts.

Since the pandemic, mental health has been on our minds more than ever. And once we became aware of the shocking numbers around male suicide–we wanted to do something to help.

Men’s Minds Matter are a not-for-profit organisation working to reduce those numbers. They specialise in developing psychological interventions for people at risk of suicide.

We approached them in February 2022 with a proactive out of home and social media campaign idea

THE IDEA

We took some of the last text conversations between men and loved ones before they took their own lives, and made them the subject of an awareness campaign.  

 Because we all have a text from someone we love, that could be the last. Suicide can come out of the blue for everyone – apart from the victim.

 So we wanted to encourage people to bring it up if they think something’s up with someone. To notice the little signs that someone is struggling, and the things that don’t get said.

THE WORK

We worked with medical professionals, lived experience experts and families affected to tell stories with the sensitivity that the topic deserved.

Once we had the final conversations, we crafted a beautifully simple text message template. Allowing the real emotion to flow through. Everyday messages that seem so inconspicuous. But with hindsight, are anything but.

Working with Clear Channel and Ocean Outdoor, in partnership with BambOOH, we secured advertising space all over the UK. From down in Southampton, to up in Glasgow, with spots all the way in between.

THE RESULTS

People have picked up the campaign and spread the message. Across social media, the posts have been shared by influencers reaching over 500k followers.

 Awareness from the campaign has seen the Men’s Minds Matter community grow. Instagram followers went from 1,100 before the campaign, to over 5,600 at the time of typing – a rise of 409%.

Comments and interactions had one underlying theme: men need to talk more. There’s no shame in sharing how you’re feeling.

We thank the families for taking part in the campaign, and allowing us to tell their stories.

If you have suicidal thoughts, or suspect a friend or loved one does, then visit MensMindsMatter.org for information that can help.