In May 2020, almost half of Americans reported that the Coronavirus was harming their mental health. And as the number of cases increased, so did the reports of anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. Lockdown and social isolation were weighing heavily and creating a mental health crisis. If all that wasn’t enough to cope with, over 36 million Americans lost their jobs.

In this landscape, meditation app Headspace was looking to launch its first ever ad campaign. The brief was to address the mental health pandemic, generate earned media, and help those who needed it most.

The brief was for a campaign, but the +36M unemployed Americans who most needed the meditation app, were the same people who couldn’t afford the extra expense of a monthly subscription. They didn’t need a campaign, they needed a commitment.

And so The Headspace Promise was born. An idea for the subscription-based app to give its product for free to 36 Million Americans. Yes, a full year’s premium subscription for free. To anyone in the US who was unemployed.

The program was seeded in the US with animated films that lived on TV, social, digital and PR. But due to the overwhelming response, it was then implemented globally.

Giving away a product is not a conventional method of sales, nor is it a solid business model for many, but in this instance, this extreme statement was exactly what the brand and millions of Americans needed.

Founded by a Buddhist monk, Headspace was created to help those who need it most through meditation and mindfulness.

So as the Covid19 pandemic raged, +36M Americans lost their jobs, and anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation skyrocketed, the brand recognized that we were fighting a second pandemic—a mental health pandemic.

With a goal of addressing the mental health pandemic and a target of “those in the US most in need of mental health support”, the brand wanted a campaign, but they needed to take action. To provide access to resources instead of just ads, to live the brand values and really create change that the country and the world so desperately needed.

Knowing the importance of the issue and the need, The Headspace Promise was rolled out in just 4 weeks from brief to launch, including animation of all assets.

Word was spread through animated films that lived on TV, social, digital and PR. The program itself was based on the honor system, all users had to do was select “unemployed” on the app or website. With that, they received access to hundreds of guided meditations and courses on everything from stress, to getting more sleep, to relationships.

With everything from news articles to morning show mentions to social buzz to founder interviews, the word spread fast. And response was overwhelming.

The program received +2.7 Billion earned impressions in publications ranging in tone and target—from Forbes and Bloomberg, to Mashable and The Verger, to Cosmopolitan Mag and Good Housekeeping. The push generated over $30 million dollars in earned media. Brand awareness grew by +6.6pts. Positive brand sentiment increased by 68%. And an idea that started in the US became a global commitment. But most importantly, millions of Americans had access to mental health support, in a time when they needed it most. Headspace couldn’t give people their jobs back, but it did help them in the process of getting back on their feet.

A year later, it’s clear that the idea wasn’t just a giveaway, it was a brand-defining statement of solidarity. An act that planted more seeds for the future than any awareness campaign. The ultimate trial-period that converted millions into lifelong brand advocates.