In this debut episode of Canadians Create, we sit down with the team from McCann Canada—Josh Hansen, Emily McLaren King, and Athena Laljee - to unpack their transformative work with Kids Help Phone on the national rebrand and platform “Feel Out Loud.”
Initiated in 2021 amid the pandemic’s height, the project responded to surging demand for youth mental health services. Kids Help Phone, once known primarily as a crisis line, had evolved into a 24/7/365 e-mental health service offering text, chat, peer-to-peer, and online resources in multiple languages.
McCann’s challenge: create a brand identity and platform that reflected this evolution, resonated with diverse youth across Canada, and built trust—while also inspiring adult donors to sustain the service. The result was a vibrant, modular design system—breaking traditional branding rules with a flexible, multi-colour visual identity—paired with the “Feel Out Loud” platform, encouraging youth to express emotions of any size.
The launch spanned TV, outdoor, gaming, and social, culminating in a music-video anthem with 50 Canadian artists to rally national support. The outcome: greater youth engagement, increased awareness, strengthened donor connections, and Kids Help Phone named Canada’s #1 trusted charity.
5 Uniquely Canadian Takeaways:
- Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast Reach – Designed to resonate with youth in urban, rural, and remote communities nationwide.
- Multilingual Inclusivity – Reflects Canada’s linguistic diversity, ensuring accessibility across many languages.
- Cultural Mosaic Branding – A dynamic, multi-colour identity mirroring Canada’s multicultural youth population.
- Collaborative Client–Agency Relationship – Built on mutual trust and openness, a hallmark of Canadian business culture.
- Public Health Gap-Filling – Addresses mental health service deficits within Canada’s healthcare system.
