In 2010, Bell and LG2 launched Let’s Talk to raise money for mental health organizations across the country by getting Canadians to talk openly about mental health. A digital ecosystem and communication platform were created, featuring testimonials from public personalities and Canadians of all origins.
By initiating this important conversation on a national scale, a powerful alliance between an important cause and an established communications company was born, putting a human face on a taboo subject and breaking stereotypes.
Walk the talk
The 13th edition of Bell Let’s Talk, Let’s change this, features alarming statistics about anxiety, lack of access to help, opioid addiction and suicide. It takes a bold approach, both in terms of its message and call to action. The campaign goes to the next stage with video and radio ads to inspire people to create positive change. Started over a decade ago, the nationwide conversation reaches out to Canadians to challenge their thinking about mental health and take action.
The Bell Let’s Talk website has been completely revamped by LG2’s Digital Experience group. The new version of the site is designed to raise awareness, inspire and, above all, to help Canadians take action through ongoing access to a variety of tools and resources. Given the general lack of accessibility to mental health care across the country, the website adds to the solutions provided by Canadian organizations and encourages Canadians to seek help or to become changemakers.
With this shift comes a fundamental change to this year’s campaign: Bell announced an additional $10 million towards its goal of $155 million for Canadian mental health programs. This action will replace the donation of 5 cents per interaction that Bell has made in previous years on Bell Let’s Talk Day.
“LG2 has been working on the Bell Let’s Talk initiative for over a decade to raise awareness about mental health. The result this year was the simple, evocative line Let’s change this, combined with powerful messages, to call for more action on the situation.”
Nicolas Dion
Partner, Creative Director, LG2
The pandemic’s weight
In 2021 and 2022, for the 11th and 12th campaign, the pandemic could not be ignored. More than ever, its effects on our individual and collective mental health can be felt. And more than ever, each action of support helps. We created different scenarios anchored in the current situation in order to reflect the realities of living through a pandemic.
Evolving over time
It may seem like another era, but the funds donated by Bell were originally generated by every long distance call made and text message sent.
For the last 13 years, Let’s Talk communications have mirrored the evolution of our changing attitudes toward mental health. Social media platforms are continually evaluated and optimized in order to increase points of contact with Canadians. The digital (and technological) ecosystem created for the campaign allows a near real-time count of the millions of interactions generated on Let’s Talk Day. The day itself is also a 24-hour client-agency partnership played out in a war room, where original, real-time reactive content is created to keep people talking. And talking.
The focus of the platform has adapted over the years too. After having broken taboos during the initial years, the focus shifted to getting all Canadians on board, with testimonials from people demonstrating the importance of talking openly about mental health. Following these courageous testimonials, the focus turned to identifying and explaining the different ways of helping, before explaining how every gesture – no matter how big or small – counts. This year, it’s finally time to make changes and take action. Even though the campaign has evolved over time, it’s still just the beginning.
Having a positive impact
Every year, Bell Let’s Talk Day’s pan-Canadian impact is felt from coast to coast, bringing together families, friends, colleagues, competitors and allies. It’s even made an international splash, with tweets from stars such as Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Mendes and Céline Dion, and politicians such as Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau and Quebec Premier Français Legault.
For the first 12 years, partners came together and formed a 24-hour war room to encourage honest conversation and create original content in real time. And year after year, without fail, overall interactions, conversations and corresponding donations have grown.
This year, Bell Let’s Talk Day is highlighting the work of grassroots organizations and inviting Canadians to take meaningful actions in support of mental health all year long.
So far, the success of Bell Let’s Talk is undeniable: This one day has succeeded in keeping an extremely important topic on everyone’s lips. A topic that touches the lives of thousands of Canadians, each and every day.
Objective: $155 million in donations
Since the start of the program, Bell has donated a total of $139,588,747.75 to mental health organizations thanks to the more than 1.3 billion interactions on Bell Let’s Talk Day. This year, Bell has committed to reaching $155 million. To date, nearly 6 million people have been supported through access to mental health services. Over the years, mental health has consistently been the number one subject on Twitter worldwide on this day, with #BellLetsTalk taking top spot as the most popular hashtag on social platforms in the country and around the world!
About Bell Let’s Talk
The largest-ever corporate commitment to mental health in Canada, Bell Let’s Talk is focused on 4 key action pillars – Anti-stigma, Care and Access, Research, and Workplace Leadership – and is part of Bell for Better. Since its launch in 2010, Bell Let’s Talk has partnered with more than 1,300 organizations providing mental health services throughout Canada, including hospitals, universities, local community service providers and other care and research organizations. To learn more, please visit Bell.ca/LetsTalk.
