Why an Orange BEHAG?

BHAG stands for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal, an idea conceptualized in the book, “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies” by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. According to Collins and Porras, a BHAG is a long-term goal that changes the very nature of a business' existence. 

Another initiative that Embark Behavioral Health is actively supporting is a national, inter-organizational campaign with a big, hairy, orange mascot at the center named “BEHAG,” which is different from "BHAG". The orange character, “Buddy,” is a visually distinctive character with a caring, kind, and loveable personality for conveying a serious message around the alarming rates of adolescent anxiety, depression, and suicide. Buddy is an imaginary character that advocates for the elimination of stigma associated with mental health and acts as a symbol of compassion, empathy, and kindness. Since this problem is much bigger than any one individual or organization, this character serves as an independent advocate to encourage communities, organizations, schools and others to come together to tackle this national epidemic. Although big and hairy, the “E” in BEHAG stands for empathy, which is not only an important core value, but is also part of the solution.

As a way of background, animated characters have long been associated with institutions, organizations, and products to draw attention, increase likeability and help shift the public paradigm. If I mention “Smokey Bear,” you will instantly know who he is and what he stands for. Smokey warned us that, “Only you can prevent forest fires,” and we all had the sense that Smokey was not a bear to be trifled with, yet we knew that without our cooperation, he and his forest companions were in serious trouble. That campaign has had immense popularity and has lasted not years, but decades. We like Smokey and we want to help him.

There are deeply held social stigmas around mental health and the consequences of doing nothing are just unacceptable. Through Buddy BEHAG’s public service messages on Facebook, amusing stories on Instagram, and national conversations, Buddy BEHAG hopes to raise awareness of the need for increased understanding and better solutions for those impacted by the effects of mental health conditions. Supporting Buddy BEHAG as a focal point and helping develop this platform to bring people together not only encourages acceptance, compassion and kindness, but is a potent way to tackle this serious problem. To learn more about the alarming rates of adolescent anxiety, depression and suicide go to Help the BEHAG, watch the video and sign up to do your part.