TikTalking about Mental Health
Social as a force for good — it’s still possible
The world is in an ugly place. It’s no wonder parents, kids, and young adults are struggling with their mental health. What people in California didn’t know was that their state is trying to help in real, meaningful ways.
Supported by a state-wide billion dollar initiative, our job was to spread the word and let California families know that critical mental wellness resources were available, and most importantly, completely free.
Working with the California Department of Health Care Services, we developed and oversaw a range of social creative to drive awareness for their two biggest mental health apps: BrightLife Kids (for parents and kids ages 0-12) and Soluna (for teens and young adults ages 13-25). Each featured everything from live 1-on-1 coaching with real, clinical professionals to self-guided tools and tips to help understand and regulate emotions such as anxiety and depression.
The challenge was how to break through the social chatter to connect with two very different audiences. We did it by showing up authentically on their favorite channels (TikTok and Instagram, ofc.) and reinforcing that we (whether BrightLife Kids or Soluna) understood their needs, their worlds and, most importantly, what they were going through.
The results were powerful: More than 319k sign-ups, over 62k coaching sessions completed, and 70% consider the apps their first and only source of professional mental health support.
What follows are some of the many efforts that contributed to that success.
Agency ATTN:, Los Angeles
Client California Department of Health Care Services
Role Concept Development, Art Direction, Design
BrightLife Kids
Loving yourself is a powerful thing
During the month of February, when the world is focused on love in all its many forms, we reminded California parents and their young children about the power of self-love.
We asked four children (and their parents) to consider the idea of self-love and then bring it to life in the form of a self-love letter to themselves — sharing the things they most loved about themselves.
The videos were so well-received that they kicked off a month-long initiative dubbed The Self-Love Letters Project where, in partnership with Paper Mate, more than 100,000 Californian school children created their own self-love letters in classrooms across the state.
Soluna
California, let’s check in
The end of the school year. Starting a new job or preparing for college. Summer can be a time of big changes and challenges for teens and young adults, which is why we used our summer campaign for Soluna as an opportunity to check in.
Featuring 10 teens and young adults from across the state (and not just the expected metros like L.A., San Diego, and San Francisco), the campaign gave viewers an in-depth look at young Californians with the same interests and struggles that they have — sharing their goals, challenges and their hometowns — and how Soluna helps them better navigate it all.
BrightLife Kids
We all need a little direction
Sometimes kids do adorable things and we float for days after. And sometimes the spilled milk sends you spiraling. But that’s OK, it happens to every parent. So we enlisted the help of former child star Tamera Mowry, of Sister Sister fame, for a little Millennial parent nostalgia that shows how BrightLife Kids understands what they’re going through and is here to support them.
As part of the campaign, we also asked a precocious group of five year-olds to break down the essential points of BrightLife Kids in a series of videos inspired by the r/explainlikeimfive thread on Reddit. (These kids nailed the assignment.)
Soluna
Your +1 is here
For our fall campaign, we positioned Soluna as the +1 that’s there for them, whenever and wherever they need it. Knowing that authentic connection matters more than anything to the Gen Z audience, we partnered with Nia Sioux from Dance Moms (who experienced a difficult childhood and has been vocal about sharing that story on social) to build trust and credibility around what was, a very new app in the mental wellness space.
To support our efforts, we created a series of Halloween-inspired ‘scary stories’ where we played into some commonly angst-inducing scenarios to show teens that spooky season doesn’t have to be spooky at all, with a little help from Soluna.