Strategy Development and Engagement Campaign

We created an evidence-based engagement strategy and a dynamic tactical plan to engage mental health professionals across the country

Challenge

SMI Adviser was funded in 2018 when the American Psychiatric Association (APA) was awarded a 5-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The initiative faced a few immediate challenges. One, it needed an actual name and had a very short timeline to grow from an idea on paper into a meaningful brand. Two, it needed a brand narrative to tell a story and deliverables to meet identified needs. And finally, it had to engage hard-to-reach mental health professionals across the country in pursuit of specific milestones and growth KPIs.

Our challenge was pretty big. We had to develop a unique strategy to carry the initiative from its start all the way through a multi-year timeline. We needed to develop all brand assets — a project name, core brand messaging, an effective launch strategy, content for a website, printed and digital downloads and other deliverables, and a tactical marketing plan to meet mental health professionals across all channels (digital, print, live events, and more).

Strategy Development and Engagement Campaign

Solution

Our team started with an in-depth strategy development process. We led deep-dive sessions to uncover data and trends, led focus groups with frontline providers, helped draft needs assessment questions, and worked closely with clinical experts to understand key influences and variables. That informed our work to create a multi-year engagement strategy for the project with a detailed, tactical timeline. Our work included:

Focus groups, interview scripts, and data analysis
Project name, brand identity, and core brand narrative (mission, vision, etc.)
Copy development for an all-new SMI Adviser website
Ideas, copy and creative for content downloads on serious mental illness
Media planning to expand reach to frontline mental health professionals
Digital campaigns to drive inbound leads and helped build first-party data
Email automation funnels to nurture providers to access education and resources
Concepts, design, planning, staging, and staffing for live event booths
Copy and creative for brand materials like presentations, newsletters, promo items, webinar registration emails, and reports on the project impact
Concepts, copy, and creative for live and asynchronous in-person and online events
Presentations to external organizations about the project (SAMHSA, etc.)
Launch strategy for My Mental Health Crisis Plan mobile app
Timeline management for the entire integrated campaign and launch