Calm and Hope&Glory nomalized suicide discussions with this Grad Prix-winning campaign, here's how
Hope&Glory and Calm have won the Events and Live Activations, Media Relations, Integrated, Not-for_profit, and PR for Good categories at The Drum Awards for PR. In recognition of the unprecedented haul, the campaign also won the Grand Prix. Here is the award-winning case study.
Check out the award-winning campaign
CALM – the Campaign Against Living Miserably – is a suicide prevention charity. Each year 6,000 people, on average, take their own life. Only 4% of the UK population knew this figure and 71% of people felt they would not know what to do if someone was feeling suicidal. We needed to make suicide and suicide prevention a national conversation again. We were briefed to develop a UK-wide awareness activity to increase conversations about suicide as a preventative measure.
STRATEGY
The insight: Suicidal doesn’t always look suicidal. Behind every suicide statistic is a real person. Each with their own personalities, needs and reasons for taking that final step. We needed to confront the reality that anyone can feel suicidal and we all have a role to play.
THE IDEA
The Last Photo. We created an exhibition on the South Bank of 50 smiling faces which, initially, had no reference to CALM. On launch day we revealed – live on This Morning – that each was the last photo of someone who later took their own lives.
THE ACTIVITY
THE TEASE On 20 June 2022 we unveiled a huge installation of 50 smiling portraits on London’s South Bank. No mention of CALM was made on any of the images. Behind-the-scenes conversations were taking place with media and influencers about the exhibition, teeing-up for the day that we revealed the true significance of the images.
THE REVEAL
On 22 June 2022, live on This Morning, Phil and Holly revealed the posters and the fact that each was the last photo of someone who later took their own life. At this point a campaign landing page went live with QR codes on each image (and supporting digital OOH) went live. Viewers could engage more deeply with the stories of the people featured and, crucially, find practical tools for preventing suicide. At the same time This Morning was devoted to a discussion of the exhibition and its themes, as well as holding a live phone-in and providing vital practical support and advice about suicide prevention.
SOCIAL
While this was a campaign designed for editorial, we delivered 4,527,792 organic social impressions and 140,998 organic social engagements across owned channels. Through earned media – principally from influencer posts of the exhibition – we delivered 5,934,538 impressions which was +960% vs CALM’s six-month average.
THE RESULTS
EDITORIAL COVERAGE
This campaign delivered remarkable results through editorial coverage. There were over 800 pieces of coverage delivering over 1 billion Opportunities to See.