A new campaign from Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) sheds light on the disorienting and disconcerting experience that can come with seeking mental-health care.

“The Maze,” which features creative and media by the CAMH Foundation’s AOR Mekanism Canada, uses visuals of a young person navigating labyrinthine hallways to convey the frustration often felt by those in need of assistance.

The work was launched Monday ahead of today’s World Suicide Prevention Day and builds on the 2023 launch of the No One Left Behind platform, which establish the lighthouse as a image of hope.

CAMH Foundation CMO Sarah Chamberlin tells strategy that “The Maze” takes the storytelling further to highlight the barriers and confusion that many Canadians are still facing.

“In many ways, the lighthouse represented the destination, while the maze represents the journey,” Chamberlin says. “Both are powerful metaphors that help make the challenges, and the solutions, immediately understandable and emotional for audiences.”

Chamberlin says this year’s entry needed a new and innovative perspective to live up to the high standards created by No One Left Behind, a platform that has helped raise $600 million in donations.

“Rather than trying to replicate it, our focus is to evolve,” she says. “Today’s environment is one of donor fatigue and news avoidance, so we need fresh creative and bold storytelling to break through.”

CAMH’s goal with “The Maze” is to facilitate and sustain donor engagement and broaden awareness and about barriers to care. Chamberlin says the uncertain state of the economy puts pressure on all non-profits, with the cost of living creating more caution and increasing the expectation of results among donors.

In response, the foundation is showcasing resources such as the Mental Health Toolkit, a guide that outlines steps toward care, and the 988 crisis line to show how donations can create change.

“Larger donors also want systemic impact,” Chamberlin adds. “And ‘The Maze’ positions CAMH as leading the way in transforming access to care that is constantly evolving and improving.”

The campaign is running across TV, digital video and connected TV, social, OOH and display. Digital-audio activations include podcast-host callouts pointing audiences toward the Mental Health Toolkit.

The CAMH Foundation has added new tactics such as cinema and various digital partners, including Reddit, for “The Maze” rollout.

The marketing-spend budget is consistent with the last year’s fall period, Chamberlin says.