Get creative

Whakamahia tō ringa auaha

Resources that engage and hit the mark

Whether you're creating resources, giving talks or planning an event, creativity and thinking outside the square can really help you generate some buzz and engage your audience. Getting specialist help with visual communication can be a big help!

Mā te huruhuru te manu ka rere With feathers allows a bird to fly - with the right tools anything is possible.
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Mā te huruhuru te manu ka rere With feathers allows a bird to fly - with the right tools anything is possible.
Top tip
Interactive resources and activities are best. The goal is to activate the evidence-based actions that improve mental wellbeing. Find ways to make your activity stand out - whether that's developing an innovative concept, using a novel delivery method (e.g. flags in road cones) or developing something tactile (people love things they can play with!). Have fun, be inclusive, and look to connect with your audience.

Be strategic and deliberate

Be strategic and deliberate

Each stage of recovery/adaptation requires its own messaging and ways of disseminating information. Before any new project, get really clear on who you're trying to reach and what your objective is. It can be helpful to think about whether you are trying to:
Validate

Reassuring people that they’re not alone, and that others feel the same way too, promotes feelings of ‘normality’ and ‘belonging’.

Inform

Providing information and advice on how people can bolster their own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of others.

Activate

This is about encouraging people to ‘do something’ to support their wellbeing, for instance using an interactive resource, or completing a specific activity.

Connecting with your audience

A few campaigns from All Right?
Over time, your approach and creative brief is likely to evolve and change, as you seek to engage and connect with different groups. This has certainly been the case for All Right?!
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Connecting with your audience

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Connecting with your audience
A few campaigns from All Right?
Over time, your approach and creative brief is likely to evolve and change, as you seek to engage and connect with different groups. This has certainly been the case for All Right?!
Checking In
Objective
Normalise how people were feeling post-quake.
Audience
All Cantabrians
What we did
Our research found Cantabrians were feeling a wide range of emotions - from frustration, anger and grief to pride in how we'd coped. This campaign used posters, flags and adverts (including street posters, billboards, and bus backs) to convey the wide range of emotions people had told us they were feeling.
Wellbeing Tips and Tricks
Objective
Inform Cantabrians about evidence-based actions (Five Ways to Wellbeing) that can increase their wellbeing, and gently prompt them to take action.
Audience
All Cantabrians
What we did
If people are encouraged and supported to look after themselves and others post-disaster, fewer will need psychological intervention in the long term. This campaign drew on the evidence-based framework, Five Ways to Wellbeing, to encourage Cantabrians to think about when they last did activities that helped them feel good.
What makes you feel all right?
Objective
Build confidence in people’s own wellbeing knowledge, empathy for others, and extend the ‘wellbeing conversation’ in the community – increasing community ‘ownership’ of the campaign.
Audience
All Cantabrians
What we did
Everyone has their own knowledge about what makes them feel good. This phase was all about collecting the things people like doing to give themselves a boost, and these were then reflected back to the community. This was hugely influential in building community ownership and trust.
Downtime Dice
Objective
Encourage people to take small breaks and embrace downtime
Audience
All Cantabrians
What we did
Downtime Dice were designed to inspire and encourage people to take downtime. Each dice provides 11 actions that are based on wellbeing science - they're simple, but they work!
Sparklers
Objective
Provide educators with fun and simple activities to support tamariki wellbeing at a whole of classroom level.
Audience
Educators of primary and intermediate aged tamariki
What we did
Sparklers was developed in response to requests from schools for more support to meet the wellbeing needs of Canterbury students post-quake. It consists of over 50 activities that teachers and other practitioners can use to help year 1-8 students feel calmer, happier, and more ready to learn.
Te Waioratanga
Objective
Increase Māori wellbeing using a “culture as cure’ approach – cultural identity empowerment and validation.
Audience
Māori in Ōtautahi
What we did
The Te Waioratanga workstream has used a variety of approaches to foster greater appreciation of Māori concepts of health and wellbeing. This has included implementing specific campaigns promoting kapa haka and te reo as central tenets of wellbeing, and the creation of the Hikitia te Hā series of mindfulness practice videos.
Pacifically Speaking
Objective
Encourage different generations of Pacific families to connect, share stories, and embrace their culture
Audience
Pacific People in Canterbury
What we did
Members of Canterbury Pacifica communities informed the creation of two sets of cards - one set describes a variety of activities for families to do together and the other is made up conversation starters.
Tiny Adventures
Objective
Provide parents with easy ways to connect with their children, even if they only have a few minutes to spare
Audience
Families with young children
What we did
Tiny Adventures was developed to help parents to enjoy quick, fun and affordable activities with their children. It was developed following anecdotal evidence that parents were finding it challenging post-quake to “lift their gaze” from stressors and find time to play and connect with their children.