Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Suicide prevention and mental health awareness is everyone’s business. Because society can't function in isolation — and none of us is as strong as all of us. In light of the growing global pandemic anxiety, we believe honesty is key to connection — and the key to breaking the silence Singaporeans have been keeping. Instead of creating an ad to amplify the Samaritans of Singapore (SOS)'s outreach during World Suicide Prevention Week 2021, we invented an edible conversational tool to invite people from all walks of life to break the silence on how they're truly feeling— by breaking a cookie.

Background

Covid-19 has taken an emotional toll on us — everyone is struggling with some form of uncertainty-induced anxiety. In fact, more than 9 in 10 Singaporeans (91%) have said their mental health has declined in the last year*. Our job is to prevent more people from spiralling deeper into darkness. Which is why this year, we’re making mental wellbeing and suicide prevention everyone’s business. Our communications objectives: Engage a wider community — including corporates, ministries to be part of this year’s rally (not just the man on the street) Scale the campaign — SOS is a non-profit organisation and the most efficient way to scale is to create an idea that will draw partners in naturally Drive longevity — create an idea that will last beyond Suicide Prevention Week, one that is easily sustained by SOS even when the campaign is over (*AIA study, Apr 2021)

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

THE HONEST COOKIE A cookie on a mission to break the silence around mental health in Singapore. Designed with “Honest Questions” (in 4 languages) within, each cookie encourages us to externalise our feelings when we share it with someone else. THE VISION Chatting over a meal is a universal bonding activity. It’s when we can be honest about not being okay. Our dream is to normalise honesty so Singaporeans can show up for one another in daily conversations. ANXIETY RELIEF TOOL Our cookie is also a “grounding tool” that invites people to stay present by engaging their touch, scent, sight, sound and taste: Feel its texture, observe its shape and colour; take in its scent — hear the CRACK before you taste it. MAKING ROOM FOR INTERGENERATIONAL CONVERSATIONS Not sure how to check-in with the young/old in your family? You can now do it by sharing this snack with them!

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

None of us are immune to having a hard time right now. Our approach aims to speak to ALL Singaporeans (children, young adult, sandwich generation, elderly), verses previous years, where we targetted specific age groups. We needed an inclusive idea that focuses on mental wellbeing instead of "suicide" alone; an idea simple enough to reach the elderly, who have the least technological proficiency and are the most vulnerable to social isolation. So we focused on the nationwide problem of “silence"; to break the stigma of not asking for help — by fuelling the growing awareness that "it's okay to not be okay". Our goal is to normalise living with anxiety and shift the culture of silence to one of curiosity and empathy; by giving Singaporeans a tool and an "opportunity" to open up honestly. The Honest Cookie is our answer to create a lasting impact beyond Suicide Prevention Day.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

PRE-LAUNCH Prior to our 10 September 2021 launch (World Suicide Prevention Day), we baked 50,000 Honest Cookies with “Honest Questions” (in 4 languages) on the inside and reached out to corporate entities to get behind the Honest cause and distribute the cookies to their staff to encourage honest conversations around workplace mental wellbeing. To test the power of our cookies, we invited real couples, strangers and friends to “break a cookie” (without context) and created unscripted social content to inspire honesty on social media for the entire Suicide Prevention Month. LAUNCH + SUSTAIN None of us is as strong as all of us. Together with Foodpanda and LiHO (Singapore’s most popular bubble tea), #HonestCookieSG made its way island-wide to break the silence with honesty. The month-long campaign was sustained by mainstream, social and grassroots engagement; and a fund-raiser that invited Singaporeans to fund a cookie to fund a conversation.

List the results (30% of vote)

The Honest Cookie drove scale and engagement from the ground up: Over 56.6mil impressions were generated across diverse publications i.e. The Asian Parent, Channel News Asia, Her World, One FM, Zao Bao to Ageless Online – bringing mental health awareness to people from all walks of life. Our partnership with Foodpanda was the largest in scale in SOS history; with Foodpanda distributing cookies to all 300+ of its employees; and delivering them island-wide with LiHO through September. Together, our fundraiser (fund a cookie to fund a conversation) raised over SGD110,000 with the backing of corporates, schools and ministries i.e. The Therapy Room, SJI International, Franklin Templeton, Amgen, Maxi Coffee Bar, Temasek Foundation, McKinsey, UPS Foundation, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Education. Honest Cookies are now a staple in community centres and a permanent ‘inventory’ for SOS. Enabling anyone to break the silence anytime – by breaking a cookie.