Bajaj Allianz has a brand promise of "Caringly Yours" – where it understands the problems that people go through and offers solutions. Health insurance is the biggest seller for the brand and health was a top consideration for the audience too.
The mental health situation in India, however, went from bad to worse due to the lockdown. So India found itself facing a mental health epidemic in the midst of a global pandemic.
ISSUE: Mental health care for most begins with a non-medical practitioner viz. family, friend or colleague. But, most non-medical practitioners find difficulty in starting mental health conversations. As a brand that promotes the power of care, Bajaj Allianz wanted to find a way to ease this difficulty.
OBJECTIVE: Make an understandable, accessible and actionable communication campaign that involves and teaches right steps to take to help someone going through a mental health episode (anxiety OR depression) without being preachy.
World Health Organisation (WHO) says peer-action is the most important factor in improving a country’s mental health situation. But mental health action from peers doesn’t even begin because most cannot imagine what a mental health episode feels like. We had to get people to understand this unique emotion before any mental health action could happen.
We did that by turning the world’s biggest video platform (YouTube) into an empathy generator. We launched a two part experience. Part one: A YouTube video with superfast typography that needs to be slowed down to read a mental health awareness message. Part two: Downloadable questions that can help anyone start a mental health conversation. Thus, we ensured Empathy generation leads to Essential action.
Viewers slowed the superfast video to the 0.25 playback speed. The slowed copy equated the unreadable video to unreadable thoughts of an anxious mind and recommended that just like the playback button did for the video, having the right conversation can slow down anxious thoughts for appropriate help to be provided. Video ended with the redirection to a microsite for downloading a Mental Health Care Kit of 10 easy questions and directions, written by experts, such that anyone can start a mental health conversation when needed.
The campaign was designed for an 'aware but hesitant' audience. This audience was identified and targeted (YouTube Pre-Rolls) basis those who were consuming news about a celebrity's suicide which had become a national tragedy (read: Sushant Singh Rajput suicide).
Timeline: World Suicide Prevention Day, 10th September 2020 - World Mental Health Day, 10th October 2020.
This is a short term activity strategically promoting a healthcare cause that the brand does not regularly engage in. It's built on a platform that the brand is very active on but uses the platform in a unique and innovative, industry-first way. All of these actions are connected to the brand promise of 'Caringly Yours' which is about identifying specific problems in the consumers' life and providing solutions to them. This activity provides a practical solution to the problem of Mental Health Care.
