CASE STUDY
There’s more to say after R U OK?
See how R U OK? used interactive video to demonstrate ways to talk about mental health.
25,047
interactions
19.76%
completion rate
30,635
total unique views
Interactive video can help make difficult conversations easier to manage
R U OK? is an Australian harm prevention charity that encourages people to have conversations about mental health. Founded by Gavin Larkin in 2009, R U OK?'s mission is to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with people around them by asking one simple question - are you ok?
While R U OK? have previously created video content to help improve conversations around mental health, they have consistently struggled to keep people engaged. This was compounded by the difficulty in getting enough information across in a short time frame. For their 2020 video campaign, R U OK? looked at tools that could help elicit higher levels of video engagement when compared to traditional videos.
R U OK? came up with the concept of a role-play that would allow viewers to pick and choose responses to help facilitate a difficult conversation. However, they needed a tool that would enable viewers to interact with the video so they could be in charge of the conversation's direction.
The Solution
R U OK? utilized Vudoo’s platform to help add interactive elements to their role-play video. The interactive video simulates a conversation with a close friend who is opening up about his struggles. At points in the video, viewers are presented with a range of questions and answers and are invited to select an option to continue the conversation, steering them through their own unique narrative.
Based on their choices, different dialogue is presented, as the video has been constructed using interactive branching feature that allows users to create choose-your-own-adventure storylines. It’s a way for viewers to feel invested in what’s going on, as well as showcase how easy it is to talk to those around them about how they might be feeling in a way that realistically captures how such a conversation might be handled.
R U OK? embedded the interactive video on their website and shared links to the video on all their social media platforms. The campaign also received national media coverage, amplifying their message.
The Results
R U OK? found that after the initial video played, 1 out of every 3 people went on the journey to find out more about what you can say after asking “R U OK?” To this day, people are still interacting with the video, showcasing that interactive video is timeless - and that content that tells a story can resonate far beyond the date when it’s most timely. The video saw such success that it became the flagship content piece for their 2020 campaign.
"With your typical videos, you see a massive drop off rate within the first 15 seconds, and we did not see this at all with the video we produced on the Vudoo platform. People were trialling out different responses. They didn’t just take one linear journey, they really went through those branching options that we created.”
Anastasia Symons
Brand & Communications Manager, R U OK?