Festival of Hapiness Unconvered & MAAG at the House of Commons
MAAG Monthly News Bulletin
The first ever MAAG Festival of Happiness, MHFA training, House of Commons..a memorable month for MAAG.
Dear Friend of MAAG,
Welcome to the MAAG News Bulletin. This is the place to be for MAAG news, community conversation and where you can catch up on events.
Please go on to the MAAG Website to view all upcoming events and training or look out for the monthly events email where you can view more details on our MAAG events programme.
If any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Jo Chappell Director of Communications MAAG [email protected] 0207 535 3550
Last month saw the successful delivery of the very first MAAG Festival of Happiness
The Festival of Happiness was a day dedicated to Mental Health and Wellbeing for the Marketing Industry, it took place on the 15th May during Mental Health Awareness Week and welcomed mental health charities, international experts and industry leaders. All with an aim to help change the way Marketing Agencies approach the subject of
Mental Health & Wellbeing.
The day was full of energy, inspiration, perspective, reflection, education, magic and fun thanks to our 27 speakers and trainers, our Charity Partners, The Mix, CALM and NABSand our sponsors, Fill Recruitment,Feedrand Opia Risk and all took place at The Collective.
The CEO Breakfast kick started the day which was full of agency CEO's all with one goal in mind, to make agencies happier and healthier places to work. MAAG's Mental Health Consultant Petra Velzeboer spoke about "Adapting to a Changing Workforce” and how looking after employees will enhance business goals and productivity.
We had a fun Laughing yoga 'Ice breaker' which is proven to generally enhance overall wellbeing and increase connectivity. The Drum network followed with findings from the 2019 agency mental health and wellbeing audit that Opinium research and University of Warwick conducted.
The research found that Marcoms workers have significantly lower mental wellbeing scores than the wider worker population. 85% have struggled with their mental health, versus 53% wider worker population.
We then heard from Inspirational Speakers who had been through difficulties and created positive situations from rock bottom. Matt Thomas, Co-founder/Director International Conferences on Addiction and Associated Disorders discussed how he overcame his Alcohol addition. Hugh Robertson, Founder and CEO of RPM talked through his struggles with dyslexia at school and his own mental health struggles and how he has positively made change within RPM in the mental health space. In particular with the introduction of Mental Health First Aid Champions and other similar initiatives. Michelle Morgan, Founder of Pjoys expressed the importance of communicating and removing the awkwardness and stigma around discussing Mental Health and told about her burn out story and how this linked to the creation of Pjoys.
The Bipolar Businessman discussed the benefits of hiring someone with Bipolar. He also spoke about the increased efficiency of an organisation when employing a mental health scheme or programme. "The majority of UK businesses are running on 60% efficiency, when you employ a mental health scheme, businesses can increase this by 30%" explained The Bipolar Businessman.
After our sponsored lunch by Feedr, Miss Nutritionist and the "Health Mind and Healthy Body" Panel discussion explored practical ways of improving nutrition and how looking after your body can help with your overall wellbeing.
Miss Nutritionist discussed the importance of sleep and "how not to burn out" based on her own learnings, she looked at ways to reduce stress, healthy recipes and "top tips for a healthier you".
"Top Tips for a healthier you" by Miss Nutritionist
1. Eat around the clock. If you want consistent energy eat every 3-4 hours to keep your blood sugar up.
2. Get organised! Organisation and preparation are key to success no matter what the health goal. Bring in your own snacks and identity your nearest health food joints.
3. Ditch the coffee. Studies show that drinking coffee can lead to anxiety and panic attacks.
4. Go for a walk. Light exercise such as taking a quick stroll around the office or around the block increases something in your body called Piezoelectricity electricity which is a positive charge in the body.
5. Take supplements ! Particularly B vitamins and Magnesium as these are often low in people with low energy and anxiety.
Abracademy took delegates on a journey on how shifting mindset can enable growth and personal development.They used magic throughout the "Ignite Inner belief" workshop to convey this message.
In addition,10 Mental Health First Aid Champions were trained and we had a Talent Workshop all running alongside one another in different spaces.
Both NABS and CALM both took part in talks throughout the day and together with The Mix provided helplines and guidance to delegates.
The Naked Professor talked through his own search for internal happiness and discussed 'new age masculinity', identity and 'removing the mask'.
Suki Thompson, Founder of Oyster Catchers and LetsReset ran a panel discussion with Keith Moor, Chief Marketing Officer, Santander, Stacey Levine, Clincal Psychologist and Teresa Klasener, Business Coach and Human Guerrilla and gave the delegates practical tips on how to improve the workplace and create an environment where employees are happier and healthier.
The day finished with a Meditation session by the London Gong company followed by networking.
A success! A great result for MAAG's 'Future Leader Group' who were responsible for first putting Mental Health and Wellbeing on the MAAG Agenda last July.
MAAG didn't just stop with The Festival of Happiness...
MAAG made a stand on behalf of the Marketing Industry and sponsored a Mental Health and Wellbeing debate in
The House of Commons.
The debate's motion was "Client behaviour is a contributor to putting at risk the mental health of agency personnel."
We had a fantastic panel consisting of Spencer Gallagher, CEO, Cact.us, Thomas Duncan Bell debating for the motion and Josh Krichefski, CEO MediaCom and Kerry Chilvers, Brand Director, Direct Line Group debating against the motion. The debate was Chaired by MP, Daniel Zeichner.
MAAG will continue to go on and support our Members in the Mental Health and Wellbeing space. We have more MHFA training and events planned as part of MAAG Happiness Agenda, so make sure you look out for the monthly events email or check out our website for more info on events and training.
