Opportunity: In 2019, the opioid epidemic reached new lows, with someone in the US dying of an overdose every 11 minutes. Our research revealed that many people sought support for themselves or loved ones through Facebook and Instagram, with personal stories about opioids as the primary point of connection. We recognized the opportunity to attack the stigma attached to opioid use head on, which addiction experts pinpointed as a major obstacle to personal and family recovery.

Our Idea: SOS: Stop Opioid Silence We crafted a series of social-first videos, a profile frame, IG sticker pack and Messenger experience to educate and empower people to fight this epidemic as a community, creating a new, more open conversation around the realities of opioid use. Each video began with an SOS: Stop Opioid Silence/Share Our Stories mnemonic and a thumb stopping stat: 1 in 2 Americans know someone affected by opioid use & then shared stories from a diverse group of people and communities across the country. Some videos drove to our Messenger experience to provide the language and tools to start a conversation and take the first steps to finding treatment. The campaign launched at the U.S. Senate, where Kevin Martin (VP, Public Policy), Fred Muench (President and CEO of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids + Center on Addiction), and West Virginia Senators Capito and Manchin spoke to applaud the work and share their support.

Results: The campaign drove a +11.9 lift in ad recall. (Non-profit norm is +9.3) It reached more than 77 million people to help de-stigmatize addiction and connect people with recovery resources. It went on to become a signature piece of Meta’s efforts to fight opioid addiction, featuring nearly 160 Members of Congress, senior administration officials from SAMHSA, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Department of Labor.