SANE and oOh!media make space for mental health awareness

A unique partnership between SANE, design consultancy Folk and Out of Home company oOh!media is taking complex mental health from behind closed doors and into the most public of spaces.

While public understanding of mental health has improved, there’s still significant stigma and discrimination associated with mental ill-health, particularly for those living with complex mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, trauma, OCD and personality disorders, where harmful stereotypes can impact health outcomes, social equity and overall quality of life for both individuals and their families.

SANE CEO Rachel Green said: “Removing inequities and exclusion for people with complex mental health is a key part of our mission at SANE, but in order to drive positive change, we needed to disrupt the prevailing narrative.

“Our community told us they were tired of living in the shadows. They wanted their lives to be celebrated and not only seen through the lens of mental illness. The first step for us was distilling a complicated situation into a simple concept – which the talented people at Folk did with our new and unashamedly confident ‘We’re people like you’ brand.

“Next up was to put it in front of as many people as possible, and that’s where our friends at oOh!media (oOh!) helped by generously supporting us to take our new brand into the most public of spaces.”

Graham Barton, Folk creative director, said: “We created the ‘breakthrough complexity’ brand idea which consciously opposes the ‘comforting’ attitude that most mental health brands adopt.

“SANE’s new identity is crafted around making space for difference – letters and shapes grow and shrink out of place, and colours are unapologetic, creating a strong coherent presence and fearless voice for change.

“For the Out of Home creative, we wanted to place focus on SANE’s thirty years of experience, showing the complex mental health community that ‘We Get’ what they’re experiencing.”

Tonya Greer, oOh! Community Manager said: “We understand the importance of getting life-saving information into the right locations. We’re delighted to support SANE in creating awareness about their new brand, help start conversations and provide information for people about where to go for support and assistance across our advertising network in suburban shopping centres, universities and TAFE campuses.”

The SANE campaign is on oOh’s Retail and Study network across Australia as throughout October; which is Mental Health Awareness Month.