Medibank - How Medibank used Viva Engage to amplify its commitment to improving mental health in Australia
Two-thirds of young Australian adults say they would find it hard to talk to their parents about their mental health challenges, and half of all parents of 16-30 year olds say they would find it hard to tell their children they’re struggling with their own mental health, according to a national research report on the mental health of Australians.
So, what’s holding Australians back from having conversations and what does it have to do with Viva Engage and SWOOP Analytics?
It all starts with Australia’s largest health insurer, Medibank, announcing a $50 million investment over the next five years into mental health, with the aim of improving access, innovation and prevention for its customers.
The announcement wasn’t just about improving mental health for its customers, it was also about ensuring this commitment was mirrored internally for Medibank employees by creating opportunities for conversation and connection, both in person and via internal communication channels like Viva Engage.
One part of this investment includes a mental health conversation starter, in the form of a card game called the Family Roast. A game that is designed to get people connecting and talking around the dinner table with family and friends.
Developed alongside mental health experts, the game has been designed to strengthen relationships and open more meaningful conversations between loved ones through a range of fun, and sometimes provocative, questions.
Top to bottom – Pam, Tim and Sharon.
Available as a physical card game or an online version, the game features questions like: “Tell us about a time where you overreacted”, “Tell me about a time when you were most proud of me”, “What small thing in your daily life brings you joy?”, “What is something you’ve never told this family?”, “How do you feel your upbringing impacted you in both a positive and negative way?”, “Tell us about a mistake you learned from that helped you grow, ” and “What is something that you think about more than you would like to?”.
To help launch the game, Medibank teamed up with Magda Szubanski who brought her iconic Kath & Kim character, Sharon Strzelecki and her never-before-seen children Tim and Pam to TV screens across the country.
To align with these announcements, Medibank launched an internal communications campaign across Viva Engage and the intranet, giving employees the inside scoop before hearing about it externally.
Medibank’s Family Roast television advertisement.
First, inform employees
Medibank’s CEO, David Koczkar, uses Viva Engage to live stream a monthly session called “DK Live” where key business updates, announcements and conversations are shared. Before Medibank announced it’s $50 million investment, employees were invited to attend a special DK Live event to learn more about Medibank’s ongoing commitment to mental health.
Viva Engage was a key channel for the internal communications team to promote the event, create anticipation in the lead up, and increase viewership on the day.
Viva Engage was used for similar posts in the lead up to the national Family Roast Day on Sunday 20 July, where again, employees were invited to get involved in the tasty conversation.
A Viva Engage post encouraging employees to tune into the live stream (featuring a bold headline, emojis, a GIF and tagged employees – all tips the team have learnt from SWOOP Analytics when it comes to creating engaging posts).
The internal communications team also used Viva Engage to amplify external communication and media activity.
A Viva Engage post sharing a Family Roast promotional segment on breakfast television.
An employee involved in the external media campaign shared an article link on Viva Engage, and invited colleagues to share their tips (a great example of two-way engagement).
Posts like these above laid the foundation for open and honest conversations in-person and online in the lead up to, and following, the Family Roast Day, where Medibank hosted connections lunches across all offices. These lunches were an opportunity for employees to take some time out during their day to play the Family Roast game with their colleagues over a tasty meal.
“We saw an incredible array of employee-generated content on Viva Engage, with our people sharing videos, photos and stories about their family roast experience with their friends and family,” said Cat Owen, Employee Change and Communications Partner at Medibank.
“We had so many examples of people sharing personal and heartfelt stories about their mental health and how the game helped to open up conversations with loved ones”.
A screenshot of a Viva Engage post showing Medibank employees enjoying connection and conversation together at an internal Family Roast Day event.
Examples of employee-generated Viva Engage posts featuring #familyroast. All posts that included the hashtag went into the running to win a $100 Hello Fresh box to help employees keep the tasty conversations going at home.
Alongside internal Viva Engage posts, Medibank’s CEO David Koczkar shared his experience on LinkedIn of connecting with colleagues over the game, as well as the why behind the creation of the Family Roast game.
This campaign engaged employees across every part of the business.
“While it wasn’t the first time we’ve shared an external campaign internally, this was by far the most successful and wide-reaching effort at Medibank,” Cat said.
“It truly brought our people into the conversation and helped them feel connected to our commitment.
“It was amazing to see such vulnerable posts on Viva Engage, and incredibly heartwarming knowing that our people felt safe to share their experiences on a work platform.”
A screenshot of David Koczkar’s LinkedIn post.
By the time the national Family Roast Day took place, more than 185,000 packs of cards had been distributed, with the online version of the game being accessed across almost 90 countries.
Coming full circle with Viva Engage
From an internal communications and marketing point of view, this campaign began with Medibank’s CEO taking his employees on the journey from the start – with open, honest and engaging communications via live streamed events and written content on Viva Engage, the intranet and via email.
The campaign culminated with enterprise-wide events for employees in the lead up to the national Family Roast Day. The full circle of the campaign was complete when employees shared their heartfelt stories about the impact of the Family Roast game on Viva Engage.
SWOOP Analytics’ Hot Topics report
Viva Engage was the instrumental platform for internal communications. But what does the data tell us about its success?
Using SWOOP Analytics for Viva Engage’s Hot Topics report, you can see the Family Roast was the most popular topic among Medibank employees, based on the most popular Viva Engage topics, hashtags and official keywords. The Hot Topics report identifies topics that have generated the most overall engagement.
The Family Roast, as part of Medibank’s wider mental health campaign, is one shining example of how Viva Engage is used at Medibank, so it may come as no surprise that Medibank was ranked No.1 globally in SWOOP Analytics’ 2025/26 Viva Engage benchmarking analysis of almost three million employees across 73 organisations. It’s the second consecutive year Medibank has taken out top honours in SWOOP Analytics’ global benchmarking study.
This top ranking is a reflection of how Viva Engage is embedded into the culture of communication at Medibank.
Recognising Viva Engage influencers
When one of Cat’s stakeholders posted on Viva Engage about women’s health in Australia, the post went viral across Medibank. When Cat congratulated her on the success following her first ever Viva Engage post, the stakeholder jokingly asked if she was going to get an influencer award, similar to what Tik Tok influencers receive.
A generic screenshot of a SWOOP Analytics’ Influential People report.
“The conversation prompted a fun thought,” Cat said.
“I spoke with my internal communications teammates and said, ‘What do you think about launching our own Medibank Viva Engage Awards?’”
Since then, Cat has been posting a top 10 influencer list every month and calling out the most influential and engaged employees across the network, using SWOOP Analytics’ Influential People report to create the list.
The internal communications team and Medibank senior leaders are excluded from the report to ensure the spotlight is on employees leading the way.
As interest in the top 10 grew, the team started spotlighting posts from employees that highlight best practice when it comes to engaging posts.
A screenshot of a Viva Engage post celebrating Medibank’s top 10 influencers, a spotlighted post and a trending hot topic.
“We try to spotlight posts that while they may not be in our top 10, they showcase really great examples of what makes a post stand out,” Cat said.
“Maybe they’ve got a video, a great catchy headline, they’ve tagged influential people or asked a question – all those tips and tricks that SWOOP Analytics tell us to do.”
“We also try to spotlight employee posts from different parts of the business, particularly areas where engagement may not be as high.”
“We are always trying new things and it’s been a thrill to see the engagement grow on our top 10 influencer posts each month.”
