988: Know the Number

Launching the new National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number with a Google-integrated campaign so people will know “988” before they need to Google it.

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Challenge

Create a launch campaign for the newly proposed 3-digit code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 (October 2019 Young Shits brief. Awarded “The Shit That Came So Close to Winning,” by Sai He).

Insight

According to a Suicide Crisis Counselor at one of the L.A. call centers, almost all callers find the current Lifeline number by Googling “how do I kill myself,” “hotline number,” “suicide,” or other related content.

Direction

How do we reach callers before they have to Google us?

Case Study

Watch the project overview here or continue scrolling to explore the creative on your own.

Google Doodle

During National Suicide Prevention Week 2020, Google will help launch the “988: Know the Number” campaign with a branded “Google Doodle” — a well-known format Google already uses to highlight historic moments and celebrate occasions. And with 63,000 searches per second on any given day, Americans will be introduced to the new Lifeline number on a large scale, hopefully eliminating the need to Google it in the future.

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In order to fully leverage this partnership, other Google products and services will be integrated to further increase awareness of the new 988 number.

YouTube Banner & Pre-Roll Ads

The campaign will engage Americans who may use competing search engines through Youtube, with a large animated homepage banner and pre-roll ads running before videos throughout the week.

Google Classroom Extension

With suicide being the second leading cause of death for 15-29 year olds and more than half of the nation’s school-aged children using Google education apps, this partnership has the potential to provide schools with mental health resources to distribute to their students. A pre-packaged “988: Know the Number” presentation will be promoted and available for free for all teachers and students using Google Classroom.

Google Fi Texts

We’ll utilize the Google Fi cellular network to send SMS messages directly to users.

Google One Today

Finally, to encourage further awareness, Google One Today will highlight the Lifeline as a “Featured Project” on World Suicide Prevention Day.

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Lex Jin Coelho: art director/designer

Bella Courtenay-Morris: copywriter

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10 days

(across a 14-hour time difference)

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Adobe Illustrator & After Effects

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