Behaviour change for Alcohol and Drug Foundation

Path2Help

Helping people find support for a loved one experiencing harm from alcohol or other drugs

Overview

As a family member or friend of someone who is being harmed by alcohol or other drugs, taking the ‘right’ supportive action can be loaded with challenges and obstacles.

Path2Help is a one-of-its-kind, needs-oriented solution to help people find support and information to help them help loved ones affected by alcohol or other drugs. Icon Agency was engaged by The Alcohol and Drug Foundation (ADF) to help launch this innovative tool with an engaging integrated campaign.

Background

Speaking out about concerns for a loved one suffering from alcohol or other drugs can be overwhelming, confusing and fear-provoking.

Knowledge, capability and access all play a role in propensity to perform help-seeking behaviours. Research found that 71% of people find it difficult to access drug and alcohol-related information and support because they don’t know where to look or what questions to ask. This means people struggling with alcohol and drug addictions don’t always get the help they need from those closest to them.

Underpinning the understanding and approach for this campaign was the category truth of low knowledge and literacy around help-seeking behaviours. While help seekers are motivated by strongly embodied emotions such as frustration, empathy and fear, hopelessness also plays a role given the knowledge and access to information tension.

This campaign needed to normalise the act of help-seeking while making it feel easy and empowering, to help the audience move beyond the cognitive and emotional barriers around taking supportive action.

Mobile screen showing campaign social tiles

Impact

It was important for the creative concept to acknowledge how difficult it can be to seek help and the shame and embarrassment associated with the behaviour, presenting Path2Help as a simple and easy way to access helpful resources. Two creative concepts were tested among the target audience including parents, family members, friends and AOD workers. The winning concept, Somewhere To Turn To, spoke to the feeling of being lost with what to do and how to help.

In typical COVID fashion, restrictions were imposed in Melbourne just two weeks out from the shoot date. The crew rescoped and replanned for a regional VIC shoot before needing to pivot a second time due to restrictions being extended into regional VIC. The shoot finally took place remotely in Tasmania with a local crew – albeit with further challenges around weather and livestream connection in remote Tasmania.

Results

Courtesy of our media partner, Atomic Media, at the time of writing this case study the campaign has generated over 45m Impressions, 37k Clicks and 1m Video Completions. The highest performing asset is the 30s video – a testament to emotional and powerful storytelling through video.

In November 2022, ADF was also named one of Australia and New Zealand’s most innovative companies at the prestigious 2022 AFR BOSS Most Innovative Companies Awards in Sydney for its development of Path2help. The foundation ranked 7th in the Government, Education and Not-for-Profit category, from over 700 nominated organisations.

Visit adf.org.au to see the Path2Help portal in action, and access ADF's other resources.