Through partnerships with Getty Images and award-winning photojournalist/documentarian Shaul Schwarz, Be Vocal set out this year to create lasting content—a photography collection and documentary film—that would advance the narrative around mental health.

The Be Vocal Collection was developed to combat the misrepresentation of mental illness, offering media alternatives to the disparaging imagery currently available. The Collection featured 10 individuals from across the country living well with different mental health conditions, showing what mental health can look like when people get the support they need—while also acknowledging the challenges of mental illness.

Beyond Silence was produced to provide an in-depth look at mental health through film—one that showed both the struggles of mental illness and the power of hope and recovery. The documentary follows three very different people who share one common experience—their lives have been transformed by speaking up.

Free for editorial use, The Be Vocal Collection launched with Getty Images in November 2016 via press release and earned media activities where Demi used her voice to elevate the project. The Collection was shared with media and influencers—along with guidelines on how to represent mental health in language and imagery—to encourage a more positive portrayal of mental health in media.

In February 2017, Beyond Silence premiered in Los Angeles with a panel discussion featuring Executive Producer Demi Lovato, Director Shaul Schwarz and the cast. The Huffington Post moderated and streamed the event via Facebook Live. Again, Demi lent her voice to the project, participating in media interviews to extend the reach of the film, which was also announced via multimedia press release.

Each tactic drove to the website, where all content was made available free of charge, and additional resources and avenues for help were provided.

Outcomes/Awareness: Beyond traditional results, several unexpected outcomes demonstrated the importance of these resources to the community:

• Key stakeholders including The Kennedy Forum and bp Magazine have committed to using The Be Vocal Collection within communications.

• In less than one month, 12 organizations/government entities have reached out to Sunovion Pharmaceuticals to request screening Beyond Silence, including the City of New York.

Knowledge/Consideration: media outreach resulted in 513 articles for an estimated 1.2B+ impressions. 137K+ users tuned in to the Beyond Silence livestream and more than 31K tweets included #BeVocalSpeakUp.

Outputs/Business Results: with no paid promotion, BeVocalSpeakUp.com received 63K+ unique visitors in four months with nearly 26 percent of visitors returning for more.