Around 115 people in the UK die by suicide every week, and one in five have suicidal thoughts. On World Suicide Prevention Day, we built Grassroots Suicide Prevention's broadcast PR campaign around a clear message: suicide can be prevented with timely intervention, and anyone can learn the skills to help. We put the charity's chief executive on air alongside a trustee with lived experience of bereavement by suicide and two supporters with lived experience of suicidal thoughts, across a radio day of interviews promoting its NHS-recommended Stay Alive app and life-saving conversation training. The campaign secured 11 items of radio coverage reaching 2.2 million listeners, including Radio News Hub, BBC Radio Derby and BBC Radio Three Counties.
Grassroots Suicide Prevention, World Suicide Prevention Day
The aim
Grassroots Suicide Prevention wanted to raise the charity's profile and promote its suicide prevention training, its Stay Alive app and the need for donations.
The message
Suicide can be prevented with timely intervention, and anyone can learn the skills to help prevent a suicide. Talking about suicide responsibly helps end the stigma around mental health, self-harm and suicide.
The angle
On World Suicide Prevention Day, Grassroots Suicide Prevention highlighted that around 115 people in the UK die by suicide every week and one in five have suicidal thoughts, and promoted its NHS-recommended Stay Alive app and life-saving conversation training.
On air
The charity's chief executive, a trustee with lived experience of bereavement by suicide, and two supporters with lived experience of suicidal thoughts
The result
11 items of coverage reaching 2.2 million, including Radio News Hub, BBC Radio Derby, BBC Radio Three Counties, BBC Radio Northampton.
More campaigns for Grassroots Suicide Prevention
Grassroots Suicide Prevention has come back to Relations Group for other broadcast PR campaigns:
World Suicide Prevention Day is led by the International Association for Suicide Prevention, with the World Health Organization, and falls on 10 September each year. It raises awareness that suicide can be prevented and encourages action to reduce it. Stations plan their coverage of it in advance, which makes it a strong hook for a broadcast PR campaign.
Planning World Suicide Prevention Day for 2027?
World Suicide Prevention Day next falls on Friday 10 September 2027. Talk to the team about a broadcast PR campaign that gets your spokesperson on radio and TV.
