UM and Ensemble Worldwide Malaysia raise awareness of mental health issues for MMHA

Universal McCann and Ensemble Worldwide Malaysia, have collaborated on a pro bono campaign in support of the Malaysian Mental Health Association (MMHA)’s upcoming Mind Run and Carnival.

Collaborating closely with Astro, the six-week long campaign supports MMHA to raise awareness on mental health issues, and through the 2018 Mind Run and Carnival, bring forth conversations around this sensitive topic. The project started as one of the initiatives under UM Impact Day, a first-of-its-kind landmark global CSR event.

“We wanted to support MMHA in their mission to educate Malaysians on the importance of mental health. Using our expertise and know-how, the team crafted messages that would pique interest and encourage Malaysians to tune in with regards to this very real issue we are facing. The initiative really epitomises the ethos of UM Impact Day – to create something impactful that creates a better world,” said Amit Sutha, Managing Director of UM and Ensemble Worldwide.

For one day, on 19th July, talents from both UM and Ensemble Worldwide received a brief from the MMHA, ideated and pitched their ideas via hackathon format to a panel of judges that included media owner partner Astro. The winning idea had the opportunity to be implemented, with buy-in from Astro, and over the following weeks, the agency acted as pro bono media and creative agency for the MMHA to bring the campaign to life.

Executive Creative Director of Ensemble Worldwide, Chan Woei Hern said, “Mental health is still a taboo topic amongst Malaysians. It’s hard to describe. It’s even harder to reach out. The most important thing to tell a person is, ‘you are not alone’. By commemorating celebrities who lost their lives from mental health issues, and highlighting its prevalence, we aim to educate the public to differentiate the myths from facts, and encourage them to open up to their mental health, gain tips to self-diagnose and seek crucial early intervention. The collaboration between Ensemble, UM and Astro meant we could deploy an impactful campaign using whatever resources we had in hand. This is a true demonstration of a marketing hack.”     

The campaign utilised electronic programming guide advertisement, radio spots, TV capsules and interviews with specialists to make mental health conversations more mainstream. The messaging focused on day-to-day challenges that most Malaysians face such as excessive work stress, relationship issues and “feeling moody” to make the scenarios more relatable.

Jen Cheong, Executive Secretary of MMHA said, “UM and Astro were committed to supporting us right from the start. They came in with an open mind, understood the issues at hand being faced by MMHA and the community at large, and dedicated the necessary resources towards bringing it all to fruition for the 2018 Mind Run & Carnival. This campaign certainly would not have taken off without their support.”

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