The Mix and VO5 launch charity partnership to support young people’s wellbeing

by Françoise Facella

Communications & Events

Tuesday 7th November 2017

The Mix, the digital charity that supports under 25s, and VO5, the UK’s No. 1 Styling Brand*, today announce a major new partnership that will help empower young people to change the narrative around how they are perceived to a more accurate and positive one – strong and resilient.

VO5 has made a generous donation in funds and media to support the charity’s digital first services as well as raising awareness for the charity’s mission: to empower under 25s in the UK with the knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed decisions in life. VO5 is supporting The Mix’s #STRONGER campaign, which will reach more than one million young people over the next six months to encourage them to share their own stories of strength and give them access to mental health support.

#STRONGER comes at a time when depictions of young people usually focus on gang violence, youth unemployment, the rising cost of education, unattainable houses and not the positive impact and importance of young people in today’s society**. The Mix and VO5 hope #STRONGER will lead the way for more positive stories over the coming months through a number of initiatives.

Zoe Bailie, Director of Brand at The Mix said: “We know that young people’s lives are more complicated to navigate than any previous generation. However, we also recognise that they are more resilient than they are often given credit for. If they have a problem they seek out the tools to try and fix it – the digital revolution has made this possible.

We saw over two million young people come to The Mix last year looking for information and support or to volunteer. Taking the initiative to do something or asking for help is a strength in itself. We see examples of people facing their concerns and problems and coming out the other side to help others – that demonstrates enormous power.”

Lauren Brooking, Marketing Manager of VO5 said: “By partnering with The Mix, VO5 wants to empower Generation Z to be resilient in the face of peer and societal pressure. Self-expression is at the heart of our brand and we are delighted to be working with The Mix in our shared mission: to foster strength in the youngest generation in the UK – the strength to experiment and the freedom to enjoy what self-expression brings.

We are thrilled to be coming together with The Mix, supporting their positive platform, where young people are encouraged to be who they want to be, to try new things and learn from living life to the fullest, but also assisted when they require support.”

The Mix has received a number of open letters from young people addressed to ‘the older generation’. They ask them to not be influenced by negative stories in the media and tar them with the same brush. The Mix will make these letters public and hope to create a shift in the perception of young people by grasping adults’ attention helping them to understand their potential and strengths.

Student, 20 – ‘I’m resilient because I try to stay true to myself despite what my parents, teachers, politicians or other adults may have to say… It’s easy to follow the path of what others perceive to be beautiful or successful. Another person’s beauty or success doesn’t take away my own beauty or success. I’m resilient because I believe in what makes me different. I’m resilient because others my age aren’t afraid to stand up for what we believe in and stand with me.’

Watch Solomon’s story – sometimes strength is knowing when to ask for help.

Media Enquiries

Françoise Facella/Natasha Giraudel at The Mix: [email protected] or call 07766 660 755
Pamela Runnacles at VO5: [email protected]

Notes to editors

* Based on Nielsen ScanTrack (Total UK, excluding NI) data for Hair Styling, 12-months to 2nd January 2016 (Copyright © 2016, The Nielsen Company)

** Extract from Demos report Introducing Generation Citizen, Jonathan Birdwell and Mona Bani, 2014.

Teenagers see negative media portrayals as having a detrimental impact on their lives and future. Faced with these challenges it is important that teenagers do not feel they are on the margins of society.

However, our research suggests that teenagers – and teachers – feel they are too often negatively stereotyped and this affects how they engage with the world around them:

A large majority (81 percent) of teenagers considered that they were negatively presented in the media and this was having an adverse impact on their lives:

• 85 percent thought it affected employment opportunities
• 62 percent thought it made them less willing to reach out to those outside of their peer group
• 58 percent thought that it made them less actively engaged in their community.

Teachers also considered that the media portray young people in an exceedingly negative light:

Two-thirds of teachers thought that the media portray teenagers as ‘lacking in respect’; 58 percent thought that teenagers were portrayed as ‘lazy’; and just over half thought they were portrayed as ‘anti-social’.

About VO5

Heads Up: At VO5 we believe hair shouldn’t be dull, life shouldn’t be boring and you should never restrict your self-expression, We encourage our stylers to have their hair in constant beta mode, to experiment, fail and learn but never leave it as it is. We want to create a world of hair play!

As the UK’s No. 1 styling brand*, VO5 brings you a full array of trusted high-quality products, which allow you to create, experiment and play with your style.

www.vo5.co.uk