Research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Suicide Prevention Scotland has shown people in Scotland are having more conversations about suicide.

We also know that people are now more confident to talk about suicide with family.

These findings apply to family, friends and colleagues. They are based on an online survey of 1,002 adults (15-19 May 2025) using identical questions to previously asked in December 2024.

Figures have been weighted and are representative of all Scotland adults (aged 18+).

This new data is revealed as Scotland’s biggest conversation about suicide continues, following the launch of a groundbreaking national campaign.

Co-produced by people with lived and living experience of suicide it asked a simple question, What if a conversation about suicide could save a life?

The campaign four people, each of whom agreed to share their story having been bereaved by, attempted or actively considered suicide.

They do so by writing a letter to a loved one, or themself, which feature in a powerful new film.

The idea behind the campaign is that we need to normalise talking about suicide and give people the confidence to have a conversation that might just save someone’s life.

The four participants are Seonaid Stallan, Ross Cunningham, Clare Collin, and Laura Junor. They came together to share their letters and discuss their experiences, in a series of moving conversations.

This is important, because suicide is a topic that makes many of us nervous; it can feel like the hardest thing in the world.

What if I say the wrong thing? Could I make the situation worse? Maybe I’m worrying over nothing and would look foolish to bring it up?

But here’s something lots of people don’t realise.

Talking about suicide is the best way to prevent it from happening.

A key part of the campaign was paid digital media advertising, featuring content on YouTube, across Meta (Facebook and Instagram), and a digital display platform called Mobsta.

Around 58% of people viewed the full YouTube ad, which is significantly above an industry expected target of 43%.

On Meta, the adverts appeared over two million times, resulting in nearly 10,000 clicks to visit the Suicide Prevention Scotland website.

Meanwhile, the Mobsta display adverts performed brilliantly. A staggering click through rate of 2.18% from almost a million impressions generated over 20,000 clicks.

Of the 17,000 unique visitors to the website, around 60% of the traffic has come via performance media, according to Google Analytics. 11,000 unique users have visited the /whatif campaign page.

The campaign was supported by out of home (OOH) roadside advertising, railway station ads and bus rear ads across Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Inverness, and Aberdeen.

Content was weighted in favour of areas of higher deprivation, based on SIMD postcode data, both on digital and the location of out of home ads.

A post-campaign user test was also conducted with partners Stickybeak.

Of an audience of 400 participants, 54% had heard of the campaign.

And of that number, 64% had seen creative in different settings and 58% said they felt more confident about the issue of suicide than before.

This work is led by Suicide Prevention Scotland, the community of organisations working to deliver the Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint suicide prevention strategy, Creating Hope Together.

There are four outcomes that shape the strategy with SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) having responsibility for the key outcome that supports the campaign and website, improving understanding of suicide and tackling stigma.

In addition to those with their own experiences of suicide, the campaign was developed with a group of people which also included those with professional experience and academic expertise. Suicide prevention specialists from local areas (Fife and Ayrshire) were also involved, as was SeeMe, Scotland’s national programme to end mental health stigma and discrimination.

The campaign, which was led by creative communications agency Electrify, who lead strategic communications & campaigns for Suicide Prevention Scotland.

Media buying for the campaign was managed by Republic of Media.

YouGov data 

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 1,002 adults. The 2024 survey was undertaken between 12th - 16th December where the total sample size was 1,007 adults.   The surveys were carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Scottish adults (aged 18+).

Stickybeak data 

The sample size was 400. All participants were Scotland based adults (18+). Respondents were weighted towards people earning less than £30,000 per annum.

*Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding. Individual percentages are rounded to the nearest whole or tenth of a percent. The raw numbers are accurate, and the slight discrepancy in totals is due to rounding.

Performance media data

The information about Meta, Mobsta and YouTube is an interim report. A final report will be supplied to us by Republic of Media in early June. We don’t expect a substantial change.