Context

Among young people, the management of anxiety and stress has become an important social problem. The latter is also the source of various disorders, such as screen addiction, drug use and smoking.

In the fall of 2022, the André-Boudreau Foundation, in collaboration with the Quebec public health authority, or la Direction de santé publique du Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) des Laurentides, launched the third edition of the ’Breathe’: Don’t let your stress have the last word! campaign, which aims to prevent anxiety in young people aged 6 to 17 as well as to better equip the adults who accompany them.

Through its website tuaslederniermot.com, the Breathe campaign offers educational content and downloadable tools for young people and the adults who accompany them in order to start reflecting about stress and anxiety and to obtain some solutions and how to access to care, but also to promote positive mental health and a healthy use of screens.

Solution

To ensure the optimal deployment and outreach of the third edition of the  ’Breathe’: Don’t let your stress have the last word! campaign, the André-Boudreau Foundation mandated Capital-Image to identify target audiences, develop a communications plan based on realistic and measurable objectives and implement various strategies and tactics.

Our research allowed us to identify three priority target audiences:

• Young people aged 6 to 17, in the Laurentians region, but also throughout Quebec, since they are the first to be affected by an increase in anxiety;
• Parents of children aged 6 to 17, mainly from the Laurentians, but also from elsewhere in Quebec, to help them become aware of the problem and to provide them with concrete tools to support their child in the face of anxiety;
• Teachers and youth workers from the same demographic, but mainly from the Laurentians, given the partnership with the CISSS of this region.

In order to achieve the communication objectives of the Breathe campaign and reach the various target audiences, a number of tactics were developed.

• The Foundation collaborated with a survey firm to draw up a portrait of parents' concerns about the stress and anxiety experienced by their children. The survey revealed that 29% of Quebec parents feel ill-equipped to help their children cope with anxiety and that more than eight out of ten parents say they need more guidance on the resources and tools available to them.
• Key messages and a training session were also prepared for Nadia Dahman, President of the André-Boudreau Foundation and Dr. Éric Goyer, Director of Public Health for the Laurentians, to have them prepared to provide insightful commentary on the survey data during media interviews and to present the tools of the Breathe campaign.Due to his commitment to making a real difference in the lives of children and teenagers, youth entertainer Pascal Morrissette, who is liked by both young people and parents, joined the campaign as a spokesperson.

• Clips on the TikTok account @tuaslederniermot featuring content creators popular among young people (Claudie Mercier, Ari Brewer, Audrey Daigneault, Emy Lalune, Alice Morel-Michaud, Alexis and Mathis St-Laurent) provided a humoristic approach to the subject.

• A launch event was held in October at the Tapis Rouge hall in St-Jérôme to mobilize stakeholders, elected officials and the regional media.

• The La minute Respire contest was also launched through media relations and direct communications with schools. The contest was designed to introduce the Breathe campaign to teachers and caregivers in the Laurentians. For one week, they were invited to practice deep breathing techniques with their students at the beginning of each period. As a result of the contest, the Lucioles elementary school in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, in Quebec welcomed campaign spokesperson Pascal Morrissette and a teacher for a fun activity addressing anxiety.

Results

For the launch of the Breathe campaign, Capital-Image succeeded in coordinating a dozen interviews with media outlets with significant reach, including La Presse Canadienne, the program Salut, Bonjour! on TVA, the program Le 15-18 on ICI Radio-Canada Première, QUB Radio, Nord Info, Infos Laurentides and the L'Éveil newspaper.

In total, nearly 26 million impressions were generated in Quebec, reinforcing that this awareness and education program is necessary and in the public interest. The resulting media coverage has positioned the Breathe campaign as a solution that gives youth, parents, teachers and caregivers concrete tools to take care of the mental health of our youth.

In February 2023, when the La minute Respire contest was launched, targeting local media, over 243,526 additional media impressions were generated. The announcement of the La minute Respire contest was delivered to all 231 schools in the Laurentians.

Since the launch of the third edition of the Breathe campaign, the tuaslederniermot.com website has seen an increase in visits of 94.5% (as of February 2023). The @tuaslederniermot TikTok account has also seen a 15.4% increase in subscribers (as of February 2023).