#BellLetsTalk About a Social Media Win!
It all started in September 2010, when Bell Let’s Talk Day began shedding light on conversations regarding mental health. For every text, call, tweet, Instagram post, Facebook video view and Snapchat geofilter used on January 25th, Bell donated 5¢ towards mental health initiatives across Canada. Since then, millions of Canadians have engaged in open discussions every year. Many have shared their personal experiences and insight to help bring awareness to this issue. Institutions and organizations in every region have benefited tremendously from the success of this cause. As of today, Bell’s total donation to mental health programs is $79,919,178.55.
During this annual campaign, they continuously promote their 4 key pillars: fighting the stigma, improving access to care, supporting world-class research, and leading by example in workplace mental health. Their carefully crafted strategy and the personal responses they receive every year makes this a good example of planned content.
This concept would not be possible without the social media platforms we have today. These networks have allowed users to share their stories freely, which wasn’t easy before. Although there is still stigma around this topic, I believe this has helped others to better understand those who struggle with mental health issues. This carefully planned and unique idea that is fuelled by the input of strangers separates them from the traditional marketing tactics. Instead of being solely controlled by Bell, this trend is powered by the people. In some ways, this can be considered as unmarketing. This term can be defined as:
“Positioning your company or brand as a trusted expert in front of your target markets via viral, social, and authentic marketing methods, so when they have the need, they choose you.”
— Scott Stratten, author of UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging.
With this increased publicity and openly supporting an issue that is rarely talked about, Bell has been able to use this to their advantage. This cause has gone viral over the past 7 years, and the brand who created this has earned a good reputation for themselves. By using this viral, social and authentic marketing method, Canadian initiatives in the sports and entertainment industry have taken it upon themselves to sponsor Bell. Some examples include TIFF and the Toronto Raptors.
However, a former employee named Marie McLean challenged this cause and Bell’s public image by revealing that she was fired after asking for a mental health leave. This caused quite the commotion, as the article currently has 18K shares. In response, the Bell PR team took it to Twitter and stated:
Evidently, McLean confirmed that Bell had tried to offer support.
Although this was proven to be a false accusation, multiple questions arise in relation to the article’s content: could this evolve into a publicity stunt in the near future? Even if this isn’t where Bell’s interests currently lay, they have the opportunity and platform to financially benefit from this. As this cause gains more attention and popularity each year, the company’s true intentions may get muddy. This cause is also vulnerable to the manipulation of those who participate in the trend, as they can abuse the use of this hashtag for the sole purpose of increasing their following count and other selfish motives.
On the contrary, seeing as all social media wins are kept alive due to the word-of-mouth, what will happen if #BellLetsTalk were to have less support in the years to come? How will Bell overcome this obstacle?
It is inevitable that every social media win will face its defeat sooner or later until it becomes a fad. The main question is: how will companies ride this out with the help of social media? I guess only time can tell…
