Back in February, there was an amazing event. It was the Bell Let’s Talk Day. Its objective was to raise awareness and money for mental health in Canada. Bell took a stand and has driven this awareness. But is it really about mental health and caring about the cause, or is it about business objectives? Is it sponsorship or philanthropy?

In late February, I had the pleasure of delivering the opening plenary session at the Conference Board of Canada Community Investment Council Conference. It was a great honor and experience, and I learned a lot. I also had the pleasure of listening to Mary Deacon who runs the program and campaign for Bell. I had been following this program and campaign for two years to follow its success and measure effectiveness. It is a great case study for community investment, marketing, sponsorship, and PR. The 2013 Bell Let’s Talk Day was a huge success and exceeded expectations of the initial $50 million investment for mental health in Canada. But was it a good investment, or was it just philanthropy?

The purists, the CI folks, and PR folks, who think it is all about “giving back” corporately and all about the cause and the corporation caring, think the Bell Let’s Talk Day campaign is just that. It is Bell stepping up to the plate and making a difference because they believe in the cause. They truly think it is about just that, and only that.

They are wrong. It is deeper and more strategic, as Mary Deacon pointed out. Bell does more with this investment than just put its name on the campaign, and give money and media support. They walk the talk. They have integrated mental health training for all their managers. These managers are now trained to detect and manage possible mental health issues. They are more knowledgeable and understanding. And that is great for employee morale and makes everyone feel warm and fuzzy. But Bell became successful because they know it goes to the bottom line. Happy employees with warm and fuzzy feelings about their company make for slower attrition. Higher retention means less training and hiring. Less training and hiring means more bottom line profit. More detection of mental health issues by staff and management means less missed worked days. It means higher productivity. And guess what? Those factors mean more bottom line profits. So yes, Bell wants to make a difference in the mental health arena just as CIBC does in the breast cancer space. But the true bottom line also includes profit and share price. Higher profits mean higher share price and happy shareholders. When Bell invests in mental health, it is investing in its own bottom line. So yes, this is a business transaction and a sponsorship. It is not just about philanthropy and helping.

When Mary Deacon was asked by The Globe and Mail if Bell Let’s Talk Day actually helped their business, she did not reference the above. She said:

“Qualitatively from what I hear people say to me and others is that people never really thought about Bell as a company that would support a cause like that, and that made them think twice about Bell. It helped people see Bell in a different, more positive light and made them think about giving Bell a second chance.”

Bell Let’s Talk Day—an amazing program delivering results and money for mental health. It truly makes a difference and Bell has led the way. But it is not only altruistic as so many CI folks, PR folks, fundraisers, and common Canadians think. It is also about profit. It is about margins. It is about differentiation from the competition. It is about slowing attrition, increasing productivity, and making money as well. That is what sponsorship is about. And that is good. Well done, Bell! You have managed to achieve many goals successfully.

These are just one person’s thoughts. Yours are welcomed as well. Please add your thoughts or comments below. Thank you for reading and your feedback.

Brent Barootes