This document summarizes the development and evaluation of an HIV prevention campaign targeting gay and bisexual men in Canberra, Australia from 2009-2012. The campaign aimed to promote condom use with new partners and used colorful imagery, real models, and positive messaging. An evaluation found the campaign increased awareness but some found the messages or models did not relate to them. Lessons included the need for consistent promotion, integrating events, and addressing diversity in models.
9. Fast forward to 2009...
• wanted a campaign for Westlund House
SpringOUT Fairday
• Integration of spring-themed UYB campaign
had been a huge success
• Would be first AAC developed campaign since
2006, and first MSM-oriented campaign for
nearly 10 years
10. BUT...
• The AAC Community Development Unit = 2
• only had 7 weeks development time!
11. So what did we know?
This is the theory bit...
• Decreased relevance of HIV and of AIDS
Councils in gay men’s lives
• Increase in the use of (sometimes sophisticated)
risk reduction methods
• Increased glorification of bareback sex
• In part a rejection of HIV sector and its history of
authoritarian messages
BUT!
• Most gay men wear condoms most of the time
with causal sexual partners!
12. So who will we try and
target?
Campaign objective: To support behavioural
intention to use condoms.
∀ Gay or bisexual identifying sexually active men
∀ Relatively new to, or re-entering scene/community, and
hence more likely to be influenced by perceived
subjective norms
∀ Sexually active with new sexual partners (regular and
casual)
∀ Believes that condoms are effective in preventing HIV and
other STIs, but mixed attitudes re. consequences of HIV
and acceptability of HIV positive sexual partners.
∀ Likely to find it difficult to insist on a condom if sexual
partner is not using one.
14. So we looked for
Love the
inspiration
logo!
Love the use
of colour
against b&w
model
He’s cute!
you
ank thy !
Th eal
H uni ties Great use of
mm
Co negative
space
19. Evaluation - My god...
we’re doing it right! Kinda...
Focus test conducted
• Love the images and style
• Love the pop culture reference and highlighting the
condom
• Logo was a bit small and a little confusing, but good once
they understood it
• Loved seeing a local campaign and recognising people in
it - not stock photos or ‘Sydney models’
• Like the variety in the models
• Not enough online presence
• When tested for Shared Responsibility campaign, women
loved the image of Sue
24. Social Media Campaign
• Purchase official clothes from Fairday, AAC or
website with PayPal
• Photograph themselves in the clothes
• Upload them to Facebook and tag themselves
in the images so that their friends could see
they supported the campaign
• Go into the draw for a Mardi Gras prize.
25. So who will we try and
target?
Launch: Westlund House SpringOUT Fairday
2009
25
29. Evaluation
• Conducted with the AFAO health promotion evaluation
mentoring with Also Spinar
• Focus Group and online survey
• 134 took part in online survey
• 50% under 30 years
• 82% had seen campaign before
• FUSE magazine most likely place to see it
• only 25% had seen new media competition on facebook
• 60% said they refused to wear safe sex messages on
their clothes
• Re: logo, it was overwhelmingly considered ‘to the point’
(44.4%),’ eye catching’ (42.7%) and ‘cute’ (33.9%)
• 90% were positive about the use of real people and real
quotes in the campaign
• 89% felt communicated messages clearly
30. Evaluation Cont’
• In the focus group
• Most were familiar with the campaign.
• The message in the logo was sometimes confusing.
• Generally liked the reassuring nature of the quotes used
in the posters, some of which they felt were good enough
for their own campaign.
• Some people brought judgement to the ‘type of people’
targeted based on the images. Distanced themselves
from being one of ‘those people’.
• While some liked the images, they did not necessarily
relate to the people used in the campaign.
• They did not feel that there was enough variety amongst
the models, especially in regards to age or ethnicity.
33. Facebook 01/11/2011 - 31/3/2012 all ads
• pay per 1000 views
• impressions: 468,258 impressions
• cost per 1000 views: $0.20
• 100 clicks
• CTR: 0.021%
• Total cost: $92.13
34. Next steps
Evaluation of I HEART Phase 3
Prepare I HEART Phase 4... and more
Challenge: The lack of models... this is Canberra
after all!
35. Lessons and
recommendations
• Trust yourself and your instincts, sometimes we do know
what we are talking about... but don’t rely on it all the time
- we were lucky
• Never assume though that you know it all, and sometimes
you have to compromise or leave your ego behind
• Gay press (which means $$$) still provides best
campaign reach
• Use of clothing and viral social media has NOT been
successful in this case (to this point)
• Consistent high profile use of campaign is essential
• Social media is a supporting platform
• Don’t be afraid to invest the time and energy required to
integrate campaign in GLBT events
Even thought the AAC has been around since the early 80’s, we have not necessarily been able to always keep pace with the other AIDS Councils. For a number of years we actually had a very low-key approach to campaigns.
This little gem was realised in 2003
With obligatory quasi-drag queen outfit
Campaigns were generally targeting the whole community, with subtle nods to gay men
There was almost a pre-occupation with ensuring that the messages were appropriate to be consumed, or consumable in school and university settings. None of this is to say that these weren’t carefully considered, but they do have a certain quaintness and naivety - and they are successful because of high recall, but no relationship with the gay community.
In 2008 we took a very different direction. These are some of the Up Ya Bum posters from ACON that we adapted to appeal to niche segments of the gay and MSM community in the ACT... some are groups we have not reached out to since the 90’s.
Because of the limited time available, we didn’t have time to go through a rigorous development process. Needs analysis Focus testing materials Engaging graphic designers Etc
This campaign fits principally within the Ottawa Charter action area of ‘Strengthen Community Actions’, in this case to build a community that supports safer sexual behaviours. It acknowledges that knowledge and awareness of condoms and safe sex is high in the primary target audience. The conceptual model used is Ajzen and Fishbein’s model of reasoned action and planned behaviour, which is based on behavioural intention. The ‘attitude towards behaviour’ (meaning in this situation towards efficacy of condom use in preventing HIV) is high in the community, so the keys to achieving (or maintaining) the desired behaviour rests on subjective norms and perceived behavioural control Subjective norms relate to an individual’s beliefs about what other people think they should do and motivation to comply, most impacted by valued peers, and of course sexual partners. Perceived behavioural control recognises the importance of power and feelings of self-efficacy over a behaviour and situation.
The use of the images of people that are recognisable within the community is designed to normalise the behaviours of using a condom with sexual partners. The visually appealing yet realistic images bring a sense of connectedness to the message, that this is their community talk to them about normal behaviours. The use of quotes will help to communicate the expectations of condom usage. It will help reduce the barriers for asking/expecting condom usage. The tagline ‘I ♥ Condoms’ is a quick, easily remembered normalising statement. The pop culture reference (I ♥ NY, I ♥ Huckabees, etc) makes it appealing to a range of demographics.
This was the finished logo. A compromise between condom reinforcement a sex positivity Alternatives tried were 2 times the HEART logo side by side, or one over the other This was the only aesthetically pleasing version
134 participants took part in the survey. Nearly 50% were under 30 years old, which possibly is reflected in the fact that most promotion of the survey was digital. 85% of respondents lived within the ACT. Nearly 82% had recalled seeing the campaign before. FUSE Magazine was the most likely place any would have seen it, with 84% seeing them there. 41% had seen it advertised on Fusemagazine.com.au, followed by 32% seeing it on Gaydar.net The AIDS Action Council and Cube were the most likely places for people to have seen the campaign. Only 25% were sure that they had seen the new media competition on Facebook. The biggest impediment to people wearing the branded clothing was a refusal to wear safe sex messages on their clothes (60%). Half that number said it was a dislike of the style of clothes (34%). With regard to the logo, it was overwhelmingly considered ‘to the point’ (44.4%),’ eye catching’ (42.7%) and ‘cute’ (33.9%). 90% were positive around the use of real people and real quotes in the campaign. In regards to the whole look of the ads, 89% felt they communicated their message clearly, 79% thought they were eye catching, and 90% felt that they were relevant. Discussion focused on: How many had seen the campaign (where and what settings) Interpretation of the message/s communicated in the campaign materials Identification with the campaign (was it appealing, did it ‘speak’ to them?)
Preliminary results of the focus group indicate: Most were familiar with the campaign. The message in the logo was sometimes confusing. Generally liked the reassuring nature of the quotes used in the posters, some of which they felt were good enough for their own campaign. Some people brought judgement to the ‘type of people’ the AAC was trying to target based on the images. They distanced themselves from being one of ‘those people’. While some liked the images, they did not necessarily relate to the people used in the campaign. This was especially true of participants who were not themselves scene-attached. They did not feel that there was enough variety amongst the models, especially in regards to age or ethnicity.