May is Mental Health Awareness month, and in recent years there has been a significant shift in society’s perception and understanding of mental health. With more people recognizing the importance of emotional well-being, the demand or mental health services and resources has surged. As a result, mental health marketing has emerged as a vital tool for promoting awareness, reducing stigma, and connecting individuals with the support they need. Similarly, brands are leveraging Mental Health Awareness month in their marketing tactics to both help provide their customers with resources, as well as leverage their own products and services that tie into the increasingly positive perceptions of mental health awareness. There are several
Pinterest x Maybelline
Maybelline is making headlines during Mental Health Awareness Month as they leverage Pinterest’s new Creator Editorial Spotlight feature for their Brave Talk program. Users are able to access Maybelline’s Brave Talk content through this new feature. The Brave Talk content includes creative videos and images centered around self-improvement, wellness, and self-care from creator, Isabelle Dias.
Pinterest’s Creator Editorial Spotlight feature allows brands to connect with their audiences more authentically. Instead of feeding audiences strictly branded content, the creator spotlight allows brands to create niche content that audiences are truly interested in, and use that as a mechanism to connect with customers. With this new feature alongside a few others, Pinterest has seen revenue grow 5% year-year-year to $603 million in just the first fiscal quarter of 2023.
LL Bean Stands for Mental Health
LL Bean is taking a completely different approach for Mental Health Awareness Month, as they are pausing their social media accounts for the entire month of May to raise awareness for the cause. While this may seem a bit counterintuitive for brands looking to increase revenue and their customer base, LL Bean is tapping into a whole new area that customers value: corporate social responsibility. Large corporations are renowned for being unethical, and not having genuine care for customers. Similarly, social media is pinpointed as a cause of mental health struggles, specifically among young people.
With the unique state of our world, it’s imperative that corporations fight their stereotypes and respond and promote the social issues they value. For LL Bean, this means taking action amidst the rising concerns about mental health. While in the short term this social media hiatus may not directly increase ROI, this positions LL Bean as an ethical brand committed to their customers. In the long term, this is going to make customers WANT to purchase from LL Bean.
The Marketsmith Commitment
At Marketsmith we remain committed to providing mental health resources and assistance to all of our employees. The Employee Action Committee (EAC) consistently organizes events for our employees to continue to improve company culture, and holds programs specifically designed to promote physical and mental wellness. The month of May has just begun, so there’s still time for your brand to leverage Mental Health Awareness Month, and show commitment to corporate social responsibility. We are here to help, and raise awareness for such an important issue in our society.
