YouTube wanted to assert itself as the go-to online hub for high quality entertainment for both consumers and advertisers. The platform is home to vloggers whose own channels now have fan bases in the millions.

We were asked to create and implement a social strategy that would run alongside TV, press and online activity to increase awareness of YouTube’s top creators and activate the collective power of their fans to reach new audiences

Our creator is beauty vlogger Zoella. She has been vocal in her battle with anxiety: an issue that highly resonates with her teenage audience.

Using this insight, we created #DontPanicButton, allowing Zoella and her fans to find solidarity and unity through a simple, but powerful symbol. Through the wearing of a red button (a play on the traditional image of a panic button), teenagers were able to show their support for each other, and gain reassurance that they’re not on their own in feeling this way.

#DontPanicButton trended on Twitter on World Mental Health Day. A huge amount of high quality user generated content was produced: #DontPanicButton was used over 15,000 times and had over 3,500 tagged photos on Instagram. Teachers shared the message too - one was so inspired by #DontPanicButton that she held an assembly and shared buttons amongst her students.

#DontPanicButton had a potential social reach of 140 million people. It generated over 1,128,041 interactions through vlog views, likes, shares and mentions on social channels.

In a fashionable twist on the normal ‘panic button’, we invented #DontPanicButton. Fans could share their solidarity by simply attaching any red button to their clothes. We took the idea to Mind – a mental health charity. They made Zoella their official digital ambassador and publicly endorsed the campaign. The day before World Mental Health Day, Zoella issued a heartfelt video plea to her YouTube fans, asking them to get on board and share pictures of their efforts on social channels. It was that simple.

The next morning, #DontPanicButton was already trending on Twitter and there were over 3,500 pictures on Instagram.

Young people began campaigning for us on social channels, creating their own logos, posters, videos… while teachers tweeted that they had handed out buttons and shared the message in class.

Within a day, #DontPanicButton had generated 1,128,041 interactions through views, likes, shares and mentions. And reached over 140 million people on social channels alone – over 20x the teen population of the UK.

Months on, young people still wear their buttons, turning a normally isolating problem into a publicly shared one.