Mental Health Awareness Week Is Not a Marketing Moment — But It’s a Chance To Improve
It’s a chance to build a better, braver brand — from the inside out.
Let’s cut to the chase.
Mental Health Awareness Week isn’t an opportunity to throw up a pastel-coloured Instagram post, share a generic “we’re here for you” story, or add #bekind to your feed for 7 days before returning to business as usual.
This is not a branding exercise.
It’s a responsibility, and for brands who genuinely want to lead with care, culture, and consciousness, it’s also a powerful opportunity to turn values into action.
Because here’s the truth:
Your team, your customers, your community — they’re all people. And people are struggling.
According to Mind UK:
1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem of some kind each year in England.
1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (like anxiety or depression) in any given week.
The workplace is a major contributor, with one in five people taking time off due to stress, and 68% of employees saying they would feel uncomfortable talking about their mental health at work.
Those numbers are alarming.
So if you’re a brand or marketer reading this, and you actually care about making a difference — not performatively, but practically — here’s how you can show up differently this week and beyond.
1. Start with the inside work.
Before you post anything, ask: How mentally healthy is our workplace, really?
Are people supported? Heard? Able to take time off without guilt? Can someone raise a hand when they’re not OK and know it won’t cost them respect, progress, or stability?
If your internal culture doesn’t match your external messaging, don’t post. Fix that first.
Case in point:
Ben & Jerry’s invests deeply in internal training, flexible working, and inclusive wellbeing policies before they ever launch public-facing campaigns. Their activism is credible because it starts at home.
2. Tell real stories. Or amplify others.
If you’re going to post something during Mental Health Awareness Week, make it honest, not hollow.
Share real experiences from your team (with consent).
Invite your community to reflect, not just react.
Partner with organisations who are already doing meaningful work.
Amplify lived experience over corporate voice.
Example:
Creative agency Uncommon London shared their founder’s raw story about burnout and anxiety — sparking real, vulnerable conversation in their industry. It wasn’t polished. It was powerful.
3. Create spaciousness, not campaigns.
You don’t need a 5-part mental health content series. You need less noise and more space for people to be human.
Shorten the meeting. Cancel the call. Give people a mental health hour.
Use your platform to offer quiet, not more clutter.
Let your brand pause in solidarity.
Sometimes, the most powerful message is making room for people to breathe.
Example:
Beauty brand Lush has closed its social media accounts entirely in the past to take a stand on digital mental wellbeing. Risky? Maybe. But deeply aligned with their values.
4. Build long-term into your brand.
This isn’t a week-long project. It’s a lifelong practice.
What does mental health support look like all year round in your business?
Do your policies protect wellbeing?
Do your campaigns avoid shame, fear, urgency, or burnout culture?
Do your leaders model vulnerability and empathy?
Mental health shouldn’t be a marketing line — it should be part of your brand DNA.
Example:
Brands like Patagonia and Innocent regularly include mental wellbeing in their broader company values, not as a “trend” but as part of a human-first business model.
5. Don’t fake it. Just don’t.
If you’re tempted to tick the Mental Health Awareness Week box without making real change — pause. Reflect. Maybe… don’t post at all.
This week is not about you looking good. It’s about doing good.
Because people can smell inauthenticity a mile away. And performative wellness does more harm than good.
Instead, ask:
What small shift can we make today to support real wellbeing?
What conversations do we need to have, even if they’re uncomfortable?
How can we move from awareness to action?
Mental Health Awareness Week is a mirror, not a microphone.
It asks brands to look inward and choose courage over convenience.
Not for clout. Not for likes. But because if we want to build a better world, we need better workplaces, better leadership, and brands that actually give a damn.
So if you’re showing up this week, do it with integrity.
Let your actions speak louder than your carousel.
We’re here for the ones doing the deep work because those are the brands the world needs more of.
Want to embed mental health into your brand culture year-round — without compromising creativity or values? Let’s talk. Virtue Studios helps values-led brands bring their purpose to life, inside and out.
