Aussie athletes promote mental health fitness in new headspace campaign via PlayersVoice
Seven high-profile Australian athletes including Tom Boyd, Kurtley Beale and James Tedesco have shared candid experiences of their own challenges with mental health in a powerful new campaign by PlayersVoice for headspace, the National Youth Mental Health Foundation.
The goal of the campaign is to provide tips and advice to young men about how to actively maintain their mental health and wellbeing.
Young men experience some of the most serious mental health issues of any group in Australia.
One in 7 young men aged between 16 and 24 experience depression or anxiety each year – yet a mere 13% seek help. Suicide is the leading cause of death amongst young Australians, with men three times more likely to take their own lives than women. Research conducted by headspace found men understood the importance of maintaining their physical health but did not place the same emphasis on maintaining their mental health and wellbeing.
The new headcoach campaign, produced by PlayersVoice for headspace, promotes the need to care for mental health as actively as physical fitness. The campaign comes to life through real-life stories and experiences shared by inspiring athletes across six sporting disciplines.
The featured talent are:
● AFL players Tom Boyd and Dale Thomas
● Australian Test Cricketer Usman Khawaja
● Wallaby Kurtley Beale
● New South Wales Rugby League player James Tedesco
● Socceroo Daniel Arzani, and
● eSports star Brandon Defina
The campaign sees the athletes share their own experiences around mental health and the steps they take to actively maintain their mental health as part of their everyday routine. The tips include things like staying connected, eating well, getting enough sleep and doing things that you enjoy when feeling anxious or stressed.
It is the first national broadcast campaign by PlayersVoice, Australia’s athlete-generated content platform which launched in September 2017. PV Studios, PlayersVoice’s branded content division, managed the production of the campaign from sourcing athlete ambassadors; producing broadcast, online and out of home content; and supporting online and social content distribution via its consumer facing platform playersvoice.com.au.
Says Adam Ireland, commercial director, PlayersVoice: “Every week athletes face unimaginable pressure, performing in front of thousands under great expectation from the media and fans alike. With their every move under scrutiny they need to develop robust coping mechanisms.
headspace and PlayersVoice approached these ambassadors as they are revered household names in sport who are often viewed as being invincible by their followers. Through demonstrating vulnerability they are challenging gender stereotyping and unacceptable cultural norms that perpetuate the idea of men needing to show strength. The stories shared in this campaign typify the kind of personal insight and connection we at PlayersVoice are championing between sportspeople, brands and fans every day.
“Too often ‘authentic storytelling’ is seen and talked about as an easily attained commodity. Our experience is that authentic, emotional content cannot simply be bought or manufactured, it requires trust which can only be earned. Since day one, athletes have trusted PlayersVoice. The headspace campaign is a great example of connecting this trust with a brand’s campaign objectives in a very genuine way. Elite athletes have tremendous influence when matched effectively with brands. It’s an exciting time for brands and athletes to be creating content together.”
Says nineteen-year-old Socceroo Daniel Arzani: “I am fortunate that as a young professional athlete, I have a support team around me who have helped me to understand the need to be mentally fit to perform at my highest level, and assisted me to develop ways to cope when I start to feel stressed or overwhelmed. But most people do not have that, which is why this campaign is so important.
“When it comes to mental health it makes no difference if you are a young professional athlete or a 19-year old going to work or university, the pressures and strains of life can get on top of you. Our mental state determines how we feel about ourselves and our place in the world. For me, it needs just as much if not more work than my cardio or on-field skills.”
Says Simone Williams, executive director of strategic communications and marketing at headspace: “It was crucial for us to get cut through with young men as they are a group who can struggle to maintain their mental health. They often don’t know where to start or what they should do. By bringing together elite athletes to share tips and advice about their own experience, we are able to help young men understand that training their minds is just as important as training their bodies.”
The nationwide campaign runs until early September and targets young men 18-25. It will run across free-to-air and pay-TV, out-of-home including stadium signage, and targeted digital and social executions with 15 second, 30 second and 2 minute versions of the athlete’s stories to be disseminated.
The athletes’ stories and tips to maintaining a healthy headspace can be found at www.headspace.org.au/headcoach.
1 Comment
I think this is a smart and very valuable campaign.