he health alth Devel velopin oping g effect ective ive - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Children and young people’s mental he health alth Devel velopin oping g effect ective ive communic icati ations ons – th through ugh invo volvin lving g you young people

Developing eloping co comm mmunications unications for yo young ng pe people ple Developing effective communications for young people is challenging – particularly when the topic is something as sensitive as mental health. Langu guag age e and d messag aging ing • We want to ensure the language we use resonates with young people – so they are more likely to engage with our communications • Who better to help us understand what the right language would be than young people themselves • CCG comms and engagement leads facilitated two phases of focus group sessions in schools across SWL in the last school term • We commissioned a company which specialises in marketing for young people, Giraffe, to design the sessions, analyse the feedback and produce a report Branding nding and campaig paign • Multiple strands of the ‘whole school approach’ and broad range of mental health services available – particularly online • Each service has its own brand and there are feelings of mistrust for online services amongst young people (evidenced in Giraffe ’s report) • The brand must represent all partners and the vision of the programme • Solution - develop one brand to build trust in which represents the programme and what it’s delivering

Insight ight ph phase se 1 1 - la langu guag age Objectiv ective - to explore how young people understand mental health, how they deal with it and language they associate with it. • We reached out to primary schools in all six boroughs and a special school in Sutton • We held focus groups in five different schools, including one with SEND young people • We asked year 5s how they would define words like sad and happy, as well as worried or stressed and asked them to describe photos depicting young people in a variety of scenarios • We asked year 8s much broader questions about how they feel about the world around them and what ‘health’ and ‘mental health’ mean to them

Findi dings ngs – de definin ning g me mental l health th • Young people associate 'mental health' as anything to do with their thoughts and feelings • For year 8s, this was also understood in more complex and nuanced feelings. There are also negative connotations to mental health regarding peer judgement • For year 5s it was understood in simpler terms of being happy or sad

Fin indings dings – consid sider eratio ations ns for communi unicatin cating Year ar 8s • There is a lack of understanding around dealing with mental health • Anonymity of support and privacy are very important to this age group • Communication should stress anonymity and diffuse stigmas Year ar 5s • Mental health is understood using simple emotions • Other people's feelings can affect their mood • Communications should focus on reacting to emotions

Bu Buil ilding ding on an ex exis isting ing Lo London don-wid wide e ca camp mpaign aign Examples of Thrive LDN campaign materials • We used Thrive LDN’s ‘Are we OK?’ campaign as the basis – it has already been tested with young people and other campaign activity will make it more likely to resonate • It’s also easy to localise – which is important for external communications e.g. on social media • The OK logo tested well with focus groups – although young people don’t associate with their borough, this helps demonstrate who materials are targeting

Launchin hing g Kooth onlin ine e services vices • The service is being made available for pupils of secondary schools involved in the programme • This means our captive audience is only within the school setting – meaning external advertising is not an option for this campaign • We have developed the following materials: • Letter to schools with template messages for staff and parents about the service • Posters to be displayed within schools – we’re asking schools to put these up in more intimate settings following insight work e.g. toilets • An animation targeted at young people to be shown within schools • Kooth branded materials like stress balls will also be available • A Kooth integration and participation manager will also contact schools offering to give presentations to staff and speak at assemblies • We tested creative routes (to be used in posters primarily) and an animation outline with young people • We will also pilot additional activity in cluster schools, to measure impact – such as pull up banners to ‘interrupt’ our audience as much as possible – we are currently in discussion with schools about this

In Insight ight ph phase se 2 2 - ca campaign mpaign testing ting Objectiv ective - to test 3 design propositions for campaign materials and test messaging and language to be used around schools communicating online mental health services • We held focus groups with year 8s in lead cluster schools and Christ’s school in Richmond • We asked questions around how young people deal with feeling low or worried – what they do and where they seek support from • We also asked how likely they would be to use mental health services and how likely they would be to use an online service • We showed them each creative route (3 to 4 posters for each) – testing whether they liked the design and / or the messaging, and the OK logo

Cr Creativ tive e de designs gns for testing ing – examp mples les of the three routes 9

Findi dings ngs – messaging and ‘look and feel’ • Young people are apprehensive in seeking help due to fears of being judged and privacy • There are concerns around online mental health services due to issues regarding trust • The perceived benefits are understood and can be encouraging to seek support • Messaging that emphasises privacy and trust within online mental health services is key to uptake • Knowing that support is readily available is appealing • The audience needs to connect to the narrative of the creative in order to engage – e.g. through the images • Geolocation specific targeting felt unnecessary – although we will include as it makes clear to external audiences who communications are for • Ultimately the design must be instantly eye- catching and relatable, therefore using age appropriate imagery such as real images of people will help increase engagement.

Findi dings ngs – an ove overvi view ew Realis istic tic and d relat atable able Langua nguage ge  Pictures of real people  Communicate professionalism and trust  Real life stories  Positive language and phrasing  A strong emotive narrative  Emphasise anonymity and privacy  Positive imagery Cont ntext xt Design gn  Campaign materials in small and  Use imagery that reflects real life discrete areas of school  Use logos of trusted and professional  Utilise Teachers and Support Workers in organisations handing out leaflets  Avoid busy and overly colourful designs  Display outside of schools

Testin ting g an anima matio tion n outlin ine • We wanted to develop an animation which made the benefits of an online mental health service really clear and a practical guide for how to access it • We also wanted this animation to be adaptable to other services available e.g. Off the Record • Building on our insight work, we commissioned an animator to develop an outline which we tested with the Sutton Young Commissioners • We also tested the Young Commissioners’ views on a young south London male voice for the voiceover

Su Summ mmary y of feedb dbac ack • The group was very positive about the storyboard animation. It is “really good”, “gives a real sense of what it is about”, and would “intrigue people to find out more about the service”. • The colours are nice and cool and common favourite colours to the young people in the room. • On slides 5 (low battery) and 6 (bell ringing), it has been noted that the images might dehumanise people’s emotions. They suggested that perhaps it would be better if the images had facial expressions or an animation of a young person. • We didn’t remove the battery and the bell because we’re targeting young people with low level anxiety or low mood – but added more faces towards the end of the animation. • Service providing anonymity was well received as a factor to get young people’s attention to use the service. • It should reference the service is for young people, make clear through what kind of device you can access it and how fast someone would reply. • The group was mixed in relation to having a young male voice. Some young people agreed it could be more engaging for that particular group of potential service users. Other young people preferred a soothing voice, either of a girl, which would sound more understanding and comforting, or an adult male voice