Broadcasters Donate More Than $40M in Airtime for Mental Health Awareness

WASHINGTON— The National Association of Broadcasters announced today that local radio and TV stations across America have donated airtime valued at over $40.8 million (up from $35.5 million in February) for NAB's “OK2TALK” mental health public service announcement campaign. This includes more than 322,908 TV and radio airings.

“We appreciate the generous support that the OK2TALK campaign has received,” NAB said President and CEO Gordon Smith. “We encourage stations to continue to use the campaign to drive home the message that it’s okay to talk about mental health; that help is available and effective; that if you need help, you should get it; and, that if you know someone who is struggling, help them to get help.”

The PSA campaign, launched on July 23, directs people to OK2TALK.org, a Tumblr-based community where teens and young adults struggling with mental health problems can share personal stories. The site also includes resources for those seeking help.

OK2TALK.org has seen significant engagement, with more than 1.2 million page views, 30,889 followers and 7,200 submissions. The site has also seen more than 126,000 clicks on the “Get Help” button, which takes visitors to mentalhealth.gov and suicide prevention resources.

The campaign has also recently been honored at the 2014 PR News Nonprofit Awards, PR Week Awards and the American Advertising Awards. The campaign is also a finalist for a PRISM award and two PRSA Silver Anvil awards.

Other partners include: Active Minds, Bring Change 2 Mind, Each Mind Matters, Entertainment Industries Council, Mental Health America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, One Mind for Research and Tumblr. For more information about OK2TALK, visit nab.org/ok2talk.

Organizations that would like to partner with the campaign should contact Michelle Lehman at (202) 429-5310 or nab@nab.org.