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Best of 2019: CALM utilise digital out of home technology in fantastic ‘Call For Help’ campaign

To generate greater visibility of its helpline and services, Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) has launched a campaign that aims to shatter the stigma of reaching out.

For those who experience suicidal thoughts, opening up to another and asking for help is not easy. For this reason, many people suffer in silence, feeling they are alone in the world.

Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Driven by the integral role helplines play in preventing deaths, Calm has launched ‘Call For Help’ – a hard-hitting visual campaign in partnership with adam&evedDDB and Ocean Outdoor.

Over 200 calls and webchats are answered by the Calm helpline daily, which has helped to prevent 675 suicides in 2018 alone. In 2018, demand for the line grew by 53%.

Calm activated ‘Call For Help’ via a series of out-of-home (OOH) digital displays and billboards across London, Manchester and Birmingham, designed to resemble the screen of a smartphone.

To normalise the service for those who might be scared of reaching out, the screens demonstrates how often the helpline receives calls by connecting them live to the phone line.

Mirroring the incoming calls in real time, the campaign publically shows how many people are opening up and receiving support from the charity every day.

Every time Calm receives a call, the ads will be interrupted, and once answered, passers-by will be alerted by a loud ringtone that captures their attention.

The screens will switch to a ‘call in progress’ phone screen to emphasise the regularity and the immediacy with which people can be helped when they’re experiencing a difficult time.

Calm is becoming renowned for its hard-hitting campaigns. Last year it launched Project 84 – a stunt that places 84 lifelike mannequins on the ledges of London’s ITV Southbank buildings to raise awareness on male suicide.

Ex-England footballer Rio Ferdinand featured in a film for its ‘Best Man Project’ – an initiative that celebrates the power of friendships and encouraged men to look out for their friends.

The campaign was conceived as part of The Drum’s annual Do it Day event, which last year brought marketers together to find solutions to some of the UK’s most pressing mental health issues, the ‘Best Man Project’ has been running since November 2017.

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Original article posted: The Drum

Date: April 2019