Thirteen years after the launch of its Let’s Talk initiative, Bell is revisiting its mission.

The campaign, which initially launched to raise awareness about mental illness and dispel the stigmas surrounding it, now is pivoting to a new goal of spurring Canadians to take meaningful action. And the telco is doing so itself with some major overhauls to its annual Let’s Talk Day, including replacing the key fundraising mechanism with a direct donation.

It’s a natural evolution of the platform, says Nicolas Dion, partner and CD at Lg2, which is the AOR on the Let’s Talk project.

“From the very start, we’ve found that the key is to communicate what people are ready to hear,” Dion explains. “The first years were geared toward breaking the overwhelming taboos and stigma that were much more attached to mental health a decade ago. As stigmas were reduced, we focused on telling Canadians the fact that mental health touches everyone.”

“Having reached a level where most people in this country are comfortable talking about the subject, we felt it was important to really talk about the current situation,” he adds. “Frankly, things are even worse than people might imagine.”

A series of spots supporting the latest iteration of the campaign, called “Let’s Change This,” are setting the tone for this year’s effort.

Featuring alarming statistics surrounding mental health issues in Canada – including data about anxiety, suicide, opioid addiction and lack of access for those who are struggling to get help – the push showcases the need for Canadians to take action now.

“Bold action is needed more than ever,” says Mary Deacon, chair of Bell Let’s Talk. “Too many Canadians are still struggling with mental health and addiction issues and not getting the care they need. Let’s change this.”

Though stigma has largely been removed from the mental health discussion, Dion says that one of the greatest obstacles now is simply that not enough Canadians are informed about the scope and scale of the country’s mental health crisis.

This year’s campaign aims to change that – and to serve as a clear call to action for Canadians to take meaningful steps toward change. In that spirit, Bell is suspending its usual push on Let’s Talk Day for people to spread its message in exchange for donations from the telco. Instead, it is replacing it with a direct commitment of $10 million toward mental health programs. On the day – Jan. 25 – it will be focusing on mental health organizations that are doing the day-to-day work to resolve the crisis, as well as on practical actions Canadians can take to help.

The campaign is supported by overhauls to the Let’s Talk website, intended to keep the conversation going beyond the day itself.

It is a 360-degree campaign running across the full spectrum of channels, including OOH, TV, online and print. Media Experts handled the buy for the campaign.

“It’s a huge creative challenge to find a fresh approach each year, but the ideas to push the conversation further and urge Canadians to take action come straight out of today’s reality and the changes we’re witnessing,” notes Dion. “The result this year was the simple, evocative line Let’s change this, combined with powerful messages, to call for more action on the situation.”