Channel Factory Leads Industry with Its Mental Health Initiative Focused on Young and Vulnerable Audiences Impacted by Social Media

Channel Factory, the global contextual advertising company powering performance across walled gardens, today launched its Mental Health Initiative focused on Young and Vulnerable Audiences Impacted by Social Media. Expanding the company’s Conscious Advertising Programme, the initiative focuses specifically on protecting the wellbeing of young and vulnerable audiences in the context of social media.

The launch responds to a growing crisis: with rates of anxiety, depression, and self-harm among young people are at record highs, and the U.S. Surgeon General has declared youth mental health a national emergency, underscoring the urgent need for safer digital environments. Yet most brand safety tools were not designed to address youth mental health. Building on its success in aligning brands with positive content across DE&I, Sustainability, and Civic Society, Channel Factory is now applying the same framework to safeguard youth mental wellness online.

At the heart of Channel Factory’s initiative are expert-validated Positive Inclusion Lists, an industry-first solution that helps advertisers elevate credible mental health content while still driving strong campaign performance.

The rollout will take place in two phases:
● Phase 1 – Launch of Positive Mental Health Lists (Q4 2025): Channel Factory is
launching the first Positive Mental Health Inclusion List. These expertly curated channels and videos will be available for clients wishing to run both in 100% dedicated Mental Health content as well as for Mental Health upweights to conventional reach-based plans.
● Phase 2 – Advertiser Integration: By Q1 2026, the curated Positive Mental Health Lists will be further customizable by subtopic, including healthy sleep habits, body image confidence, and healthy eating practices. This will enable brands to run targeted campaigns around specific areas of mental wellbeing or enhance broader campaigns with an added positive wellbeing layer.

“Advertisers have both the influence and the responsibility to shape healthier digital
spaces. With this initiative, we are giving advertisers a trusted framework to actively
support youth mental wellness while ensuring their campaigns continue to perform. It proves that responsibility and results can go hand in hand, setting a new benchmark for responsible media investment,” said Philip Cowdell, Global Chief Strategy Officer at Channel Factory.

The program has been developed in consultation with leading academics and advocates, including Dr. Sameer Hinduja, Dr. Dan Reidenberg, Dr. Peter Macauley and Dr. Jessica Piotrowski, and other institutions across key harm areas such as identity, body image, and cyberbullying. This multi-disciplinary validation ensures the framework aligns with best practices in youth well-being.

Channel Factory’s recent global research highlights the scale of the challenge. Half of consumers (50%) believe social media content negatively impacts young people’s mental health, with nearly one in five saying the effect is “very negative.” By contrast, just over one in five (21%) see social media as having a positive impact. Crucially, two in three consumers believe advertisers have a responsibility to ensure ads only appear alongside content that supports, rather than harms, young people’s mental health.

With the Youth Mental Health Initiative, Channel Factory is setting a new standard for how advertisers can contribute to safer, more positive digital environments. To learn more about the program and access resources for advertisers, visit https://www.channelfactory.com/mental-health.

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Research methodology: Channel Factory surveyed 18,002 consumers across the USA, UK, France, Sweden, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, India and Australia in August/September 2025.

Disclaimer: Information mentioned here has not been verified or endorsed by Agency Reporter and is in accordance with the press release shared by the company or their appointed representatives