After nearly seven years with the Canadian Blood Services, Jeff Moat has left his role as national director of marketing to join The Mental Health Commission of Canada to spearhead its Partners for Mental Health program.
The program, which launched three years ago, is a grassroots advocacy movement committed to giving mental health a more prominent spot on the national agenda.
“The program is really about bringing the social movement to life,” said Moat, who is based in Ottawa. “It’s about engaging a broad cross section of the public on mental health.”
According to Partners for Mental Health, mental illnesses represent more than 15% of the burden of disease in Canada, yet receives only 5.5% of health care dollars.
In the past, the Partners for Mental Health program came to life through an annual national event promoting the power of mental well-being.
While Moat is still in the planning stages, he sees the social movement coming to life primarily online. “This can’t be another walk, it can’t be another run, this needs to be very different,” he said. “This needs to position our cause dramatically differently than how others have helped to engage the public and raise awareness.”
The movement, he said, must meet three objectives: raise public awareness about mental health, to advocate for change, and get a fundraising element off the ground so the Partners for Mental Health program can become self- sustaining.
Partners for Mental Health is currently searching for an agency partner to help outline what the social movement should like, said Moat, who has put together a short list of 18 agencies.
“Because I really think [the campaign] is going to be a strong digital play I’m looking at those shops that have a very strong digital arm or who are digitally focused.
“This needs to be a shop that understands the space, can deliver in the space, but I need to have access to some traditional marketing services as well so it needs to be a fairly well-rounded shop,” said Moat.
In addition to the online portion of the project, Partners for Mental Health is also looking to create an umbrella brand for the program and a new visual identity. Agencies have until April 8 to bid on one or both projects. Moat hopes to have an agency in place May 1.
Moat, who is currently the only one working on the project, is in the process of hiring a director of social marketing, a marketing manager and a director of volunteer services.
