Protect All The Ones You Love Campaign

 

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In response to the growing number of new HIV infections among African American men and women in Western New York, AIDS Community Services developed a targeted social marketing campaign in 2006. The campaign, entitled “Protect All the Ones You Love,” was designed to promote HIV testing and behavior change related to safer sex practices in communities of color, specifically among men who have sex with other men (MSM).

Research and Planning

 

We conducted three levels of research and planning for this multi-media, public service campaign to determine community need for information and the most effective communication strategies and media outlets for reaching the target population.

1. ACS has assessed and documented community need related to effective HIV prevention strategies throughout its 23-year history. In preparation for this campaign, we reviewed local demographic and HIV/AIDS and STD prevalence data specific to the target populations using data from the New York State and Erie County Departments of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We also evaluated use of HIV/AIDS services in the geographic service area and three years of ACS’ consumer survey results. 

 

While the HIV/AIDS epidemic has had a significant impact throughout Western New York, our research showed that specific communities have been affected disproportionately. Locally, communities of color account for approximately 10% of the total regional population, but more than 74% of people who are newly diagnosed with HIV are African American. Even more significant in our findings was the significant number of HIV infected African American men who publicly identify as heterosexual, who are in fact having sex with both men and women. 

There is no other HIV/AIDS risk population that is so “off the radar screen.” While people who identify as gay or bisexual are not exactly embraced anywhere in the United States, this behavior is rarely accepted in African American communities. It is important to note that among MSM there are three distinct subpopulations: men who identify as gay; men who prefer sex with other men but do not self-identify as gay; and men who self-identify as heterosexual but also have sexual encounters with other men.

Our data shows us that there are many African American men who are engaging in homosexual activities, but do not identify - either publicly or personally - as gay or bisexual because of the extraordinary social stigma associated with homosexuality. For many of these men, it is almost imperative to have a public relationship with a woman to erase any doubt about their sexual preference. This subpopulation of men, are at very high risk for transmitting HIV and are the primary target market for our campaign.

2. In developing this campaign, ACS staff used one of the CDC’s heavily researched and demonstrated effective HIV intervention strategies known as “social marketing.” In a social marketing campaign, the goal is to effect consumers’ behaviors change rather than persuade them to buy a specific product. Though public understanding and awareness are effectively advanced during a social marketing campaign, it is a byproduct rather than the primary goal. One frequently quoted definition of social marketing is the "application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society" (Andreasen, 1995). In our campaign, the voluntary behavior is being tested for HIV.

3. During our planning we decided to use a multi-media campaign that included display, radio, and television advertising. After numerous consultations, we selected media outlets with the highest density saturation for our target market:

• Radio spots on WBLK in a schedule that ensured that 40,000 African American men, ages 18-40, would hear the message a minimum of three times per week
• Public service announcements on television cable channels BET, ESPN, MTV, and Nickelodeon to reach 312,000 households in the region
• Advertising on bus shelters located throughout the predominantly African American east side of Buffalo. Each of the five shelters average 10,300 to 15,100 motor vehicle viewings daily. (Pedestrian exposure to these ads are not counted in these numbers.)

 

This campaign was funded by a grant from the CDC, which allowed us a budget of $15,000 for an initial three-month campaign. Full Circle Studios, a generous ACS supporter, donated the full cost (estimated at $4,750) for production of the television advertisement. ACS’ graphic designer developed the print component, and ACS staff wrote the radio ad copy, which was produced by WBLK.

 

Execution

Because issues related to HIV/AIDS are often misconstrued as morality issues, we knew it was critical that we create a message for this campaign that was straightforward, completely nonjudgmental, respectful of cultural beliefs, and assured complete confidentiality. The campaign’s tagline, “Protect All the Ones You Love,” was developed with significant community input that included ACS staff, our Client Advisory Board, and our community Materials Review Committee. It was used consistently in all media chosen for the campaign.

The opening shots of the campaign’s 30 second television ad features two African American men sitting together in an SUV with their hands touching, designed to imply physical intimacy between them. After they part company, the next scenes show each of them with their female partners – one man with a wife and children and the other with a girlfriend. The closing shots promote the “product we are selling” which is the action we are striving to make happen: the men going into ACS for HIV testing.

 

The 60-second radio message is more in-depth and tied to the TV and print campaign through the repeated tagline “Protect All the Ones You Love.” We selected WBLK for its heavily African American audience demographics. The print component uses both the tagline and images from the TV ad to ensure continuity.

Results and Evaluation

Nearly 50 people who came to ACS for HIV testing after the campaign’s initial 3-month run reported the campaign it as their primary motivator for coming. None of them had been tested for HIV in the past. Anecdotally, we know that for every person who told us they saw or heard the ad, there were many more that would not cite the campaign, because of the stigma associated with culturally unacceptable behaviors.

Based on feedback from the CDC, we believe this campaign was the first multi-media social marketing campaign in the country designed to engage this population in HIV testing. Because of that, comparative numbers to measure the campaign’s success are not available. ACS’ HIV Test Counselors felt the campaign was an overwhelming success based on the number of new individuals who came in for HIV testing. ACS continues to use this powerful and highly effective marketing tool in our efforts to prevent the further spread of HIV in Western New York.