Client: NHS South East London Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Role: Campaign team member at LynnRecognition: Silver, Data-Driven category — Public Service Communications Awards 2020
The Brief
During the first UK lockdown, NHS South East London CCG needed to promote mental health services and drive uptake at a moment when residents needed them most — and needed it fast. As part of the team at Lynn, I worked on #FreeYourMind, a data-driven mental health campaign delivered for the CCG within a 12-week window that included research, audience insights, and live testing.
The Approach
Rather than launching on instinct, the campaign began with a two-week test phase — resisting the pressure to move straight to full rollout — to properly understand the audience and what messaging actually resonated. That early investment in insight shaped how the campaign was built and adapted, and the team ran activity in bursts, using each phase to learn and refine before scaling up.
The result was a campaign grounded in behavioural insight rather than assumption, built to reach and engage audiences who are typically hardest to reach in health communications.
The Results
#FreeYourMind reached over 1.4 million residents across south east London and delivered some of the strongest engagement figures seen in mental health communications:
- Up to 4.5x higher engagement than typical healthcare campaigns
- Over 25,000 conversions to the campaign microsite
- 54% engagement with key calls to action
- 44% engagement among BAME audiences, against a mean BAME population of 39% — a meaningful gain in reaching seldom-heard groups
The Recognition
Competing against the highest number of entries the awards had seen to date, #FreeYourMind won Silver in the Data-Driven category at the Public Service Communications Awards 2020, recognised for its rigorous use of data and behavioural insight in both planning and activation.
In the Client’s Words
“Lynn’s data-driven approach led to incredible results as it enabled us to really get to know our audience and what resonates with them. Initially the two-week test phase seemed a bit much as we were keen to get on with the campaign, but I am so glad we did this as we gained so much valuable insight which enabled us to adapt and maximise the impact. Running the campaign in bursts enabled us to continue to learn and refine.”
Russell Cartwright, Assistant Director of Communications & Engagement, NHS South East London CCG