The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 43: June/July 2019 | Page 6

BUSINESS NEWS
LET’S TALK ABOUT MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH
Swindon businesses are getting behind a
new campaign to raise awareness of men’s
mental health. Alex Pollock (known as Polly)
approached The Business Exchange to see if
we would do our bit for the cause. This edition
we’ve donated two pages of content to support
it and urge you to share these key messages to
help men in the community wherever you are.
We met Polly of SocMedSup to find out more
about the movement.
HOW DID THE CAMPAIGN BEGIN? HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED?
It originally started in the late summer of
2018, in response to a concern from Public
Health around men’s mental health, and
the unfortunate statistic associated to
suicide; nationally it’s the biggest killer of
men under the age of 45 in the UK.
Generally speaking, 75% of suicides
each year are men, but more of a concern
is most of the men who take their own
life have never reached out for support.
There’s still much of a stigma around men
asking for help, and the discussion around
the topic too.
Public Health Swindon wanted to
tackle the problem locally. They felt the
best way to activate this would be to
put it to the local community. Through
a series of questionnaires and face-to-
face focus groups, local men and women
were spoken to about their perceptions
of men’s mental health, what their
suggestions were for reducing the stigma
and generating further awareness of the
service available locally and nationally.
The direct feedback from men was a
desire to see a change in culture, with one
attendee even speaking about wanting
to see masculinity redefined, and the
notion of ‘being a man’ more aligned to
supporting people.
The focus groups generated a number
of campaign themes, which were all put to
a public vote earlier this year. The leading
campaign tagline was confirmed as “How
are you?... but, how are you really?” – and
the campaign’s marketing activation is
being shaped around this output. Through a mutual contact, I was
introduced to Charlie Paradise, a local
public health co-ordinator. Charlie invited
me to attend the focus group sessions
to see if I could add some value. As a
young male business owner, everyday
has the opportunity to throw elements
of stress and adversity, and over the last
couple of years, I’ve been more conscious
about ensuring I take care of my mental
wellbeing as well as my physical self.
Having attended the focus groups
and hearing stories first-hand related to
mental wellbeing, I was inspired to see
what else I could do to support. Since
then, Charlie and I have been putting
in as many voluntary hours as possible
and calling in favours to help bring the
campaign and brand to life.
WHO’S SUPPORTING THE
CAMPAIGN SO FAR?
We’re truly blessed to have been
supported by the local community, as
well as many corporate businesses.
Create Studios have been instrumental
in bringing the design messaging to life,
and we’ve called in favours from Swindon
businesses such as ESP Colour and Acorn
Press for the print side of things.
My team at SocMedSup.com have
kindly donated some personal time for
developing the branding and also creating
a website which highlights a number of
services offered locally and nationally that
directly support the issue.
The campaign’s activation is being
supported by a number of large local
organisations such as GLL (leisure
centres), Thames Water, the Wyvern
Theatre and New College, who have not
only adopted the marketing, but have
worked with Public Health Swindon
to upskill their staff around healthy
conversational skills on the topic.
Adding to this is a plethora of
independent consumer-facing business
- like menswear stores, barbershops,
gyms, coffee shops. We’ve now got over
50 establishments helping to spread the
good word.
TELL US ABOUT THE
POSTER CAMPAIGN
Pictured right. With the campaign being
about promoting basic conversations to
establish how a friend, family member
or colleague is really feeling, we were
conscious that those featured in the poster
could literally be anyone. Mental illness
has no physical signs, so you’d be unaware
as to whether one of the guys featured in
the poster may well be currently receiving
support for a problem.
We also felt that the messaging should
be targeted at places where men in the
community might go on a regular basis
or have direct connections too. So, we’ve
included a barber, a fireman, a couple
of business owners, those connected
to the arts community, and they’re all
Swindon-based. Everyone who’s involved
themselves in the campaign has been
so passionate about what we’re trying to
deliver, and they want to support the local
community in the best way they can. We’re
grateful for the support!
WHAT DO YOU THINK DRIVES
THAT PASSION FOR THE CAUSE?
The ability to create change. I personally
believe that by making the topic of
conversation about men’s mental health
more approachable, we can encourage
a significant change in the culture of our
society.
The campaign to-date has been
completely voluntary, without financial
budget associated to it - which just goes
to show how supportive of the concept
and objectives people are. I truly hope
we can deliver our message far and wide
throughout Swindon.
“75% of suicides each year are men, but more of
a concern is the men who take their own life have
never reached out for support”
Visit the Men’s Mental Health Swindon website at: mmhswindon.co.uk
The website shares links to CALM, providing national support for men struggling with mental health problems, the Samaritans,
who support people at a time of crisis 365/34/7, as well as many other local charities helping mental wellbeing.
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THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2019