Why Canada did not use Social Marketing as an Anti-Stigma Tool

What is it about?

In 2009, the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s anti-stigma initiative (Opening Minds), pilot tested a social marketing campaign. Messages were transmitted in newspapers, on the television, and through social media. The stories included real people who had experiences mental health challenges. An evaluation was completed to determine if the campaign improved public attitudes and perceptions. Survey data were collected before and after the 5-week campaign, focusing on individuals who regularly used media as these would be the most likely to see messages. Results showed that the campaign awareness did not improve. As a result, the outcomes of interest (stigma related knowledge, attitudes, and intended behaviours) also did not improve. The total cost of the campaign was over 1.5 million dollars (including donations). Because it would have been too expensive to gain the audience reach needed to shift outcomes, the program pivoted and targeted specific groups such as the media, the workforce, healthcare, and schools.

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Why is it important?

Social marketing proved to be too expensive to get positive results. By using funding in smaller target projects, greater community buy in was created with stronger results.