Engaging the Media and Communication Resources

Tools available


Advertise

If you have a budget and are planning to use advertising to reach your audience, whether it’s on the back of buses or on the radio, please do get in touch with us to talk about how we can work together.  By working with us, and using our artwork and media buyers, you can save money and benefit from well-researched advertising that we know works.

Stop press

There are plenty of ways to get free publicity by working with the local media and letting them know about your activity.  Download our press release template here. The local press won’t campaign for you – but give them a news story with local relevance and you may get coverage of your key messages and your spokespeople a chance to speak out. At this planning stage it is a good idea to call either the Time to Get Moving or campaign media team for advice.

Tips for working with the media

1. Right contact: contact the news desk to find out who the most appropriate reporter is. Always call first, rather than just sending an email.

2. Calendar hooks: time your launch around a particular special date or other local event to provide a ‘hook’ such as World Mental Health Day.

3. Personal experience: the media are always looking for ways to bring the story to life and people’s experiences are a good way to do this.

4. Spokespeople: the local media are often keen to have a local spokesperson. This could be someone with personal experience, a local celebrity or a local health professional.

5. Local newspapers: the local papers are all about news, so find a good news angle on your activity. Call the news desks a least a week before your event, have a ‘headline’ in mind, and mention the most exciting, or unusual aspect of the story first. Follow up your phone call with a press release.

6. Local tv: if you have an interesting launch event, ‘stunt’ or activity planned, you may be able to get a local TV news reporter to come along. A photo stunt or quirky event can be a great way to generate media interest on the day of your event.

7. Radio: talk to your local radio station and identify if they have shows that might cover your story.

8. Key messages: Time to Change’s key messages should form the backbone of everything you say to the media. Don’t worry about being repetitive – sometimes this can be the key to getting a clear message across.

9. Be organised: don’t forget the media works to tight deadlines, and journalists are always in a hurry. Make sure you have everything you need before you approach them.

 
Key  messages

1) People affected by mental health problems experience stigma and discrimination. Shame and stigma wrecks lives – it stops people getting help, getting back to work and getting on with life.
2) Mental illness can happen to anyone and it’s common; it affects 1 in 4 people at some point in their life.
3) You can do something. Don’t cut someone with mental health problems out of your life – be there for them and don’t write them off.

 

To help you involve your local media we have prepared a template for you to use. The following templates are available:

These are available by emailing the relevant media teams. You can find details on the ‘Get in touch’ page.

“It’s time we all understood more about mental health problems and how we can support friends and family. That’s why I’m supporting Time to Change – we all have a role in helping end mental health discrimination.”

Gok Wan

  

Ambassadors

The experiences of local people can really capture the attention of the local media. Could you recruit local ambassadors to:

  • be spokespeople for media before or at your event, speaking about their experiences of discrimination.
  • help start conversations with the public and make your events sociable and effective in breaking down stigma, ensuring that people with and without mental health problems mingle.

If you’re having trouble recruiting ambassadors, we might be able to help, though we aren’t able to provide ambassadors for every event and it’s preferable for local organizations to recruit their own ambassadors.

Celebrities

Celebrities are a head-turner and can generate profile. However, it is always difficult to get celebrities involved and we are lucky as a national campaign to have a few who support us – but they are much in demand and are very busy. This means we can’t provide celebrity contacts to other organisations. But don’t let that stop you, why not research local celebrities in your area and invite them along.