LENS: ITV2 AND CALM
Since lockdowns began the CALM website has seen an increase of over 100% in young people seeking help for isolation, mental health and anxiety. As part of its recent partnership ITV2 and CALM launched three timely videos featuring familiar television personalities as they share #WhatGetsYouThrough.
The campaign encourages viewers to talk about what makes them feel better when they are feeling low. With a core viewership aged between 16-34, ITV2 is the perfect partner to elevate this campaign and provide a platform to effectively reach and engage with young people.
Alongside the video clips, ITV hosts the digital platform for the partnership and all its relevant materials. The ITV2 platform has clink through links to the CALM web page and visa versa to provide equal promotion and easy access to its services and content.
The partnership aims to help one million young people take action to support their mental health. Dr Alex George, who was recently appointed the Government youth mental health ambassador, launched the campaign.
Research conducted by the partnering organisations found that eight in ten of 16-24 year olds admit to worrying about their mental health, while half of these individuals said mental health affected their relationships during the pandemic. The three videos feature television personalities targeted at this age range.
It also found that a quarter of this age group said they struggle to see hope for the future. This video campaign is focused on finding hope for viewers by talking about the little things that help people to get through difficult days. Dr Alex George says, “To help me get through a long day I always make time for a bath bomb,” while television presenter Laura Whitmore says “For me that’s having a cup of tea and usually getting stuck into a really good new book, it just stops me scrolling for a little while.”
There is a focus on lockdown and recognition that this has been a difficult time many people’s mental health. Television presenter AJ Odudu says it was having conversations with her mum that got her through lockdown.
Each video ends with a call to action “make time for what gets you through” and signposts towards the ITV platform and the social media hashtag #WhatGetsYouThrough.
Paul Mortimer, head of digital channels and acquisitions for ITV, says “Young people have had an incredibly tough year, and ITV2’s unique, irreverent tone and talent, together with CALM’s expertise, give us a platform to help get the vital message out there that it’s important to take time to focus on mental wellbeing and work out what gets you through.”
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) is a charity and leading movement in against suicide in the UK. The videos launched on ITV’s Social Purpose social media channels and will run on television screens with a number of ITV2 personalities sharing their coping strategies in coming weeks.