McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong and Cigna Inspire the World to See Stress Differently

McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong partnered with Cigna International Markets in their latest initiative, which is helping the world see stress differently. The Stress Visualisation Experience was unveiled at a global launch event in London which took place on Thursday 19 September. 

As the lead agency for Cigna International Markets, McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong created the campaign, pulling in specialist teams from its network -- McCann, MRM//McCann, McCann Health and CRAFT, and from multiple offices -- New York, Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei, Dubai and Johannesburg.

According to the 2019 Cigna 360 Well-Being Survey, 84% of the world population suffers from stress*, but what many people don't realise is that stress is constantly impacting both the body and mind. The physical symptoms are often invisible until stress turns into chronic stress, a leading contributor to severe long-term conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, and insomnia. To make the invisible visible, McCann Worldgroup and Cigna partnered with doctors, technologists and renowned digital artist, Sean Sullivan, to build proprietary stress visualisation kits to help people see the signs of stress on the body and mind for the first time. Each kit gathers a user's stress readings using an EEG headband that detects Alpha and Beta brainwave activity, a heart rate sensor and a Galvanic Skin Response sensor to measure stress-related skin conductance.

These readings then flow into an algorithm which interprets the data into an artistic motion portrait that dynamically changes shape and colour in real-time to reflect your overall stress at that moment. The visualisation aims to raise awareness of stress’s impact on your physical health, however, it is not intended to be a diagnostic tool for chronic stress.

The Stress Visualisation Experience was unveiled at a Cigna’s “See Stress Differently” event which included a live visualisation kit for attendees to experience themselves. The tour will continue to key markets around the world over the coming months and throughout 2020, supported by a global ad campaign and planning tools to help people manage their stress proactively.

Heather Valteris, chief marketing officer, Cigna International Markets, says: "Our survey data shows a rising incidence of stress across the world, and with chronic stress now widely recognized as a leading contributor to serious illness, we felt the need to inspire preventative care action for all people, not just our customers. The Stress Visualisation Experience is a huge step forward in helping people to see stress as a physical health issue, not just an emotional one. If we start to see stress differently, we can start to take control of it in our everyday lives.”

Brandon Cheung, CEO, McCann Worldgroup Hong Kong, adds: “The partnership between McCann Worldgroup and Cigna over the years has been built on a shared belief that global brands have the power to positively impact the world. Continuing in this direction, we believe the Stress Visualization Experience will help reverse the global trend on stress and preventable illnesses caused by stress.”