• by Sarah Calkin-Ward , October 22, 2018

World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10) was an important one for global health awareness, education, and advocacy against the social stigma of mental health conditions that annually affect 43.8 million adults like me, a high-functioning bipolar II sufferer.

Many hardworking mental health organizations develop campaigns like the Mental Health First Aid’s #BeTheDifference that exist to build awareness of the broad spectrum of ways a person’s mental health can impact his or her life, family, community, and career. These organizations rely heavily on the support of brands to help amplify the cause and message to a broader audience.

So what can brands do to embrace an authentic approach to social-cause marketing?

Be in it for the right reasons. I have reviewed hundreds of fantastic campaigns for some very worthy causes. Unfortunately, when brand effectiveness results didn’t give a positive boost to lower-funnel metrics, these campaigns were deemed unsuccessful.

Cone Communications’ 2017 CSR study found that when a company supports a social or environmental issue, consumers have a more positive image of, would be more likely to trust, and would be more loyal to said company.

But posting ribbons and running ads for a short time period is not enough to move the needle. Social cause marketing is a long-term strategy that takes time to foster authentically.

Hit the right note with the right cause. A strong social-cause program should extend beyond a customer ad campaign to become a part of the cultural fabric of the business. So it’s vital to choose a cause in line with your company belief system and values.

For example, some previous employers of mine externally stated they supported mental health awareness and inclusion (particularly during the recruitment stage), yet offered no paid personal days or access to mental health services within the benefits provided. Their actions were misaligned with the objective of the cause.

Make it personal. Understanding why your customers and employees support a particular social cause is a key step in developing an authentic program that empathizes with the cause and the people it is affecting.

Recognizing the power of relatable storytelling, financial services company Barclays launched its “This Is Me” campaign in 2014, where global employees of the company shared elements of their personal lives using a video series hosted on Barclays' website.

The impact for the company was positive. “The organization is retaining talent, as more employees successfully return to work after mental health-related leaves of absence,” according to Amanda Popiela, author of The Conference Board’s “Mental Health and Well-being In The Workplace” report. Barclays made mental health awareness personal to its brand by showing why it’s personal for its employees.

The power of an emotive narrative cannot be underestimated, and is often helpful to humanize a company when aligning with these types of human issues.

You don’t need to start a whole movement just to share your support of mental-health education and awareness. Making the commitment to understand how the cause relates to your brand and helping to amplify the cause in an authentic manner can go a long way.  To truly make a difference, you simply have to be willing to commit to #BeTheDifference.