Headspace launches global campaign amid world's emerging 'new normal'

Wellbeing app Headspace has launched its latest global campaign documenting the importance of being in the right frame of mind following the highs and lows of the previous year.

Going live this week, "Find some Headspace" reveals snippets of people’s personal lives over the past year, with excerpts of genuine letters written to the company detailing the joy the app has brought them during troubled times.

As the world adapts to a new normal, the in-house campaign hints at the optimism and hope many across the world may be feeling as a growing sense of positivity emerges.

The campaign will be rolled out across YouTube TrueView and BVOD with SkyAdsmart. Additional creative will also run in high-visibility OOH placements at major rail hubs in London and across digital channels.

A survey in June 2021 by YouGov revealed that fewer teenagers say that their mental health is “poor”, compared with YouGov’s previous survey in March 2021. Pessimism is becoming less common: when the study previously asked teenagers about the future for people their age, 65% said it would be “a lot” or “a little” worse. This has fallen to 57% of teenagers questioned in the latest survey.

But while some are looking to the future with a sense of positivity, others may not feel so comfortable. The campaign references common scepticisms that people may face when thinking about how or why meditation could help them.

The voiceovers include references to the short space of time in which someone might meditate, or the lack of knowledge as to how meditation can provide comfort. However, the campaign highlights how even those who formerly might have been unsure have found “joy” through the app, or the ability to be kinder to themselves.

Creatively, the film is a departure for the brand, which has previously focused on pure animation. This film was made using genuine film footage and was overlaid with the joyful and colourful visual system associated with the app. 

Caroline Pay, Headspace's chief creative officer, told Campaign: “Now as we go into this next phase, some people's lives seem very back to normal, some people's lives are completely unrecognisable. So whatever the kind of life you're facing into now, our role is to be there, whether you need help relaxing, whether you need help sleeping, whether you need help with confidence, focus, performance at work. What I am so proud about with Headspace is that whatever form you need us in, we can deliver.” 

The company saw an increase in subscriptions particularly from employers during the pandemic. Meditation and sleep support became the most subscribed to content during this time. 

Pay said: “Employers all of a sudden had all of their workforce at home and had to figure out how they care for their workforce when they weren't together anymore. We saw a lot of demand from the companies wanting to care for their employees.”

At the start of the pandemic, Headspace created Weathering the Storm—a free collection of mindfulness resources to help people deal with the anxiety, stress, pain and fear of what the pandemic meant to them. 

While eyes-closed meditations remains the backbone of the app, it has now branched out into focused music, mind and body programmes, sleep exercises and daily podcasts. 

Pay added: “You can listen to the Radio Headspace podcast every morning while you're getting ready, or you can watch the Headspace guided meditation on Netflix, there are different ways to get some headspace. Some people might use multiple ways during their day as kind of a companion to try to live a little bit more mindfully.

"The pandemic has definitely let people recognise the importance of being slightly more mindful or taking a little bit of time for themselves and looking after their mental health, which we certainly weren't doing enough of before.”

Louise Troen, Headspace's vice-president, international marketing, said: “With the launch of Headspace’s new campaign, we want to show the genuine impact of how our app can have a true impact on everyone, even those who might have originally been averse to the idea of meditation.

"Aiming to inspire, but also to comfort, 'Find some Headspace' encourages us all to dispel our fears, put ourselves first, and find our own sense of headspace.”