More
often than not, the phrase “its ok not to be ok” resounds in the myriads of my
thoughts and in those instances I am oftentimes lost; tossed into a sea of
confusion, capsized, shipwreck and thrown onto the rocky shore of
disillusionment. Am I going crazy? Understand, mental health is an issue that
more often than not, goes unnoticed by the masses as the victims are labelled
“mad” or victims of paranormal activities or workings from the “dark side”.
The
American Psychiatric Association describes mental illness as “health conditions
involving changes in thinking, emotion or behaviour.” There are a vast range of mental illnesses,
however, the most popular and prevalent of these include depression, anxiety,
schizophrenia, eating disorders and addictive behaviours (Mayo Clinic, 2015). In
the Caribbean region, persons who are crippled by mental illnesses are
discriminated against and stigmatized due to their inability to cope with the
pressures of society. Additionally, mental illnesses accounts for approximately
17% of deaths in the region (Baboolal, 2015). It is the lack of information and
knowledge about the disease that causes persons to distance themselves from those
affected. Therefore, it is paramount to shed some light on this issue by analysing
a previous campaign on the discrimination and stigmatization on mental illness
and providing some recommendation that hopefully, can be modelled in the
Caribbean.
The
World Health Organization alluded that “the single most important barrier to overcome
in the community is the stigma and associated discrimination towards persons
suffering from mental and behavioural disorders” (WHO, 2001). More so, studies
conducted in the United Kingdom exposed the extent of the negative behaviours
towards persons affected with mental illnesses. Therefore, in an effort to
address the results of the studies which affected mental health persons and
their families, the See Me….
Campaign was launched in October 2002 in Scotland. The campaign which was
funded by the Scottish Executive’s National Programme for Improving Mental
Health and Wellbeing in conjunction with four (4) other organizations – 1. The
Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH), 2. The National Schizophrenia
Fellowship, 3. The Royal College of Psychiatrists, 4. Penumbra and Highland
Users Group. The campaign ran for a four
year period (2002-2006) and was mainly managed by Penumbra and Highland Users
Group along with a small team. It was illustrated that the campaign’s name was
formulated from comments made during a campaign focus group. Additionally, the
four dots at the end are representation of statistics which shows that one in
every four persons will experience mental health problems over time.
According
to the official website of the See Me…. campaign,
the main purpose was to tackle the stigma and discrimination experienced by
persons with mental health problems. See
Me…. involved national level publicity campaigns which targeted the entire
population; targeted publicity campaigns which aimed at specific groups through
young people and workplace strands, collaborations with the media and support
for local activity through the provision of materials, advice and guidance.
The campaign has
five (5) core objectives:
·
To tackle stigma and discrimination by raising
awareness of how both affect individuals with mental health problems and by
improving public understanding of mental health
·
To challenge individuals incidents if stigma and
discrimination
·
To involve people in anti-stigma activities
across Scotland at national and local levels and across sectors and communities
of interest
·
To ensure that the voices and experiences of
people with mental health problems and their cares are heard
·
To promote a culture of learning and evaluation
through all its works, so that effectiveness can be demonstrated and lessons
shared.
See Me…. utilized several
target audiences throughout the campaign run and was segmented based on their
behaviour. The first step of the campaign targeted the general public using
both over the line and under the line advertising. In 2004, See Me…. began targeting employees and
workplaces with a different campaign involving radio ads, posters, postcards
and downloadable screen savers. These images depicted professionals in uniforms
with a related mental illness branded on their attire along with their job
description, for example “the schizophrenic doorman”. Younger persons became
the target audience in 2005 when See
Me…. launched its young people campaign using animated images. The imagery
of a self-harming boy and a girl with an eating disorder (referred to as Cloudy
Boy and Cloudy Girl) were used to capture this audience segment in addition to
television ads with vivid focus on children’s channels (channel 4) and
teenagers (MTV). This campaign utilized
a tagline “see me…. I’m a person just like you”. This provided some sense of
security for young mental health individuals while informing others that mental
illness does not make the victim different from the rest of society.
The
campaign also formulated a media volunteer program which reached out to persons
who have experienced mental health problems. Those who were willing were
trained to speak with the media through television programs. With each varying
segment of the audience, strategic communication plans were utilized in order
to fully execute and deliver the message to its designated audiences. This was
particularly required as each audience segment require different levels of
information. Whereas animation will be effective in reaching young people, the
same cannot be said for older professionals.
With
any campaign, research plays an important role in a successful execution. As
such, See Me…. had set out on ensuring
that every phase of the campaign had some research before executing it. Formative
research was used in the planning process of this campaign to collection
information regarding person’s perception, attitudes and knowledge on mental
illnesses. Following this, the organizers were better able to plan the message
and communication strategy to reach these persons, influencing their behaviour
change. In other instances, qualitative research was primarily used.
See Me…. campaign used the theory of
reasoned action throughout its campaign. This theory organizes itself around
the constructs of behavioural and normative beliefs, attitudes, intentions and
behaviour. The most important predictor of subsequent behaviour is one’s
intention to act. This is influenced by one’s attitude toward engaging in the
behaviour and the subjective norm one has about the behaviour. As it relates to
the campaign, the aim was to increase awareness and change the perception of
mental health whilst encourage persons to not discriminate or stigmatize those
who are victims. It is the normal belief that persons who suffer from mental
illnesses are considered crazy and basket cases. As such, See Me… wanted to change
this belief and attitude.
Overall,
the See Me…. campaign would be deemed a success as there
was an increase in awareness on the subject matter. Admittedly, the campaign
had fully involved the marketing 10 step plan which laid its foundation. A
focus and purpose which is required for all campaigns were set in accordingly.
As it relates to its audience, See Me….
observed the need for linkages between its audiences and formed various
collaborations with its upstream (government officials, media houses, health
professional), downstream (volunteers) and mid-stream (families, persons with
mental illnesses and the population at larger). The campaign also recognized
that there were several competition in the way of effectively delivering its
message of anti-discrimination and stigmatization. As such, the organizers
developed key message strategies to counter act this issue. One such was using
main channels for the children and directly approaching the workplace. On the
other hand, one downfall was not using tip 5 of the tips to success by bringing
real benefits into the campaign which would have garnered more success.
The
campaign however, did not make full advantage of the marketing mix, especially
the product. It offered nothing but the actual product which was the new
behaviour they were expecting from its audience. At the same time, the
organizers must be applauded for its understanding of place. In this instance,
the campaign sought to reach its audience at any given time and place without a
physical location. Given the seriousness of the issue being addressed, the
campaign set out to reach persons at their point of need which is essential in
the steps to success. This was done through its placement and messaging.
Professionals were met in their office, younger persons; during their favourite
shows.
Another
applauded strength of this campaign is the fact that it utilized persons who
were or had suffered from mental illness to be the spokesperson in its
promotion efforts. More so, the incorporation of taglines in its communication
channels was key.
Ideally, persons can experience multiple forms of stigma and
discrimination based on sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or disability. As
such, the campaign could have linked these issues and undertook a joint project
to challenge the issue. At the same time, I believe that each form of
discrimination has unique dimensions that were at risk of being lost if all
audiences were targeted together. Consequently, it would be suggested that campaign
take a more diverse approach to promote a more equal and accepting society
rather than producing a one size fits all campaign in each segment. More so,
many of the promotional material did not address issues of diversity,
especially reaching out to minority groups such as LGBT populations. Whilst
recognizing the work of See Me… the
future requires a new plan with greater and stronger connections to the wider
agenda of inequalities and discrimination and that makes the explicit roles and
contributions of the other players at policy and service level.
