Silver award for Branded Entertainment/Content Campaign of the Year
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Provider/Insurer
Campaign: Shut Out the Stigma
Agency/Firm: Kansas City Royals
Client: Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City aimed to dispel some of the toxicity in youth sports by teaming up with the Kansas City Royals baseball team.
Young athletes often face a significant amount of pressure to be perfect, potentially leading to anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. That is potentially why about 70% of young people stop playing sports by age 13.
As part of the campaign, the insurance company and the Royals hoped to shed light on young athletes’ mental health struggles. They developed the documentary “Not Good Enough” featuring several experts from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City and placing large art installations across Kansas City that display how kids feel when they play sports.
"The thing I’m most scared about is letting you down. And when we drive home I don’t look forward to it because you tell me what I did wrong and I already know what I did wrong, so it frustrates me," reads one letter to an athlete’s parents available to read on the campaign website.
The campaign, which won silver among providers and insurers for Branded Entertainment/Content Campaign of the Year, raised more than $105,000 for 18 behavioral health organizations in Kansas City as of May. Messaging at the Royals’ Kauffman Stadium also garnered more than 68 million impressions, according to the organizations.