The appointment of blogger ‘Zoella’ as digital ambassador for mental health charity Mind demonstrates just how far the blogging industry in the UK has come.
If you are not aware of British blogger Zoe Suggs ‘Zoella’, she regularly vblogs to her 8 million subscribers about beauty, fashion and also shares an open account of her own battles with anxiety and panic attacks.
Zoella will be supporting Mind’s #DontPanicButton initiative which asks those who battle anxiety, as well as their friends and family, to wear a red button as a mark of solidarity. Supporters are encouraged to upload a photo of themselves sporting their buttons using the hashtag #DontPanicButton to increase awareness and help others know that they are not alone.
This campaign illustrates Mind’s solid understanding of the younger audience it looks to engage with. Mind has successfully recognised the power and impact bloggers can have with young people and how social media can be used as an open discussion platform to remove any stigmas surrounding mental health.
The announcement of Zoe Suggs as Mind’s Digital Ambassador was picked up in a variety of media outlets from The Guardian to Company. More importantly for this specific campaign Zoe’s video about anxiety has had over 2.5 million views already and has sparked online conversation about mental health with thousands of young people.
I feel Zoella is the perfect ambassador for this campaign and has created a much stronger media and social impact than a traditional celebrity may have achieved.