Sometimes it's easier to let others put your feelings into words

Kristine Eikenes - Account manager (TRY) Scott Olav Allan - Creative consultant (TRY) Sondre Gogstad - Creative (TRY) David Leithe - Creative (TRY) Randi Maria Borge - Creative (TRY) Julian Tepfers - Creative (TRY) Eva Reppen - Motion designer (TRY) Iselin Garseg - Editorial assistant (TRY) Karianne Haldorsen - Production (TRY)

The last few years of isolation and COVID-19 restrictions have been tough on many in Norway, but especially on young people. Research by NIPH – the Norwegian Institute of Public Health shows that young and single people have struggled the most with loneliness and other mental health issues during the pandemic. Our new reality has triggered a whole spectrum of emotions in this demographic, from disappointment, sadness and loneliness to boredom, tranquility, freedom and even a feeling of community for some. A population survey conducted by YouGov in relation to the World Mental Health Day in Norway in June 2021 found that young adults is the group that finds it most difficult to be open about how they feel. The findings were surprising: “This is the group that to the greatest extent believes that it has become easier to be open about mental health in society in general. But when it comes to talking about one's own feelings (...) there are many who struggle to find a way to express themselves, to make it fit into their own language. This can stand in the way of important conversations” says Anura Sankholkar, the national campaign leader for World Mental Health Day in Norway. As society slowly started to open back up last summer after 1.5 years of isolation and restrictions, The Norwegian Directorate of Health (HDIR) wanted to make it easier and less of a stigma for young people aged 13-20 years old to talk about their mental health. HDIR is the main sponsor of one of Norway’s biggest music concerts for young people: “VG-lista”. Last year’s edition would be a fully digital event, streamed live on Norway’s leading news site VG.no. They wanted to use this platform to build awareness, but first they needed a clever and engaging way to give youths the means to express themselves. As part of the research process, we studied the concert format, the artists, and the program to try and find a theme that would fit the event. After many hours of listening to the artists and watching their music videos, it became clear that the answer to our question was literally coming out of our speakers. Music is the language of emotions. The artists and songs we love have a unique ability to describe what we feel inside, but do not always dare to say. Our core idea became a very simple statement: "sometimes it's easier to let others put your feelings into words." The key to this was using the artists they adore to talk about the feelings they dread, and thus achieve the coverage this topic deserves. Through the partnership with VG-lista we contacted 12 of the featured artists of the concert and got approval to use their lyrics and unique visual style to describe a set of feelings that would be relevant to our target group. Our designers used each artist’s style and married it with our message to create 12 distinct visual directions and themes for the campaign, instantly recognizable to the artists’ fans. We developed 14 display ads that were placed on the leading news site VG.no. This is also the most popular news site among our target group. During the concert the display ads were developed into a visual frame for the live studio coverage on VG.no. This meant that the message was always visible for viewers watching live. In addition, we created a series of video ads for Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok using clips from the relevant music videos. All the ads we created linked directly to the website ung.no, a resource site specifically for youths, where you could read more about how to deal with mental health issues and easily get in contact with professionals. The creative concept culminated in the live broadcast of the concert on VG.no. Our idea of using lyrics as an entry point of discussion transcended the paid media channels. It allowed journalists and hosts to talk with the artists more openly about their mental health. In interviews before, during and after the broadcast the artists became part of our creative concept. Not only could the audience see their idols be vulnerable, but they could also use their exact words to express their own feelings. Everything was delivered to our target audience through the most popular news site and concert in the country, making this important message impossible to miss. Norway is a small country with a population of just under 5.5 million people. Our target group consists of approximately 500 000 persons. During a campaign period of just 9 days our display ads gained over 4 million impressions, by 2.1 million unique users. The website ung.no was visited over 32 000 times. In the days leading up to the concert, several of Norway’s leading national and regional news media published interviews with the artists about how their lyrics reflected mental health issues. The news coverage reached almost 3,2 million Norwegians, more than half of the population. The social media videos gained over 4.6 million impressions with 100% coverage in the potential target groups across all platforms. The videos on Snapchat alone got almost 16 000 swipe-ups. A survey panel among the target group conducted by YouGov for VG in October showed that 6 out of 10 people remembered the campaign. This is a great result from a post-test conducted over a month after the campaign finished. The results indicate a clear and positive shift in the way young people perceive and engage with the topic of mental health. Together with VG-lista and the brave artists that talked about their own experiences, HDIR is paving the way for a future where it is OK to talk about how you feel, especially if you are going through a tough time.