Finding the Right Appeals for Men Who Have Sex With Men

Theoretical Background and research questions/hypothesis: For social marketing messages to be effective, it is critical that the message, content, images/graphics and design highly resonate with the intended audience. Some factors that influence the success or failure of health communication messages include, but are not limited to, aesthetics of the images and graphics, message clarity and believability, attention-getting ability, easy call to action and source credibility.

Methods: Since the launch of Act Against AIDS in 2009, CDC has conducted formative research for four campaigns, all targeting openly gay and bisexual men: 1) an upcoming prevention campaign for all gay and bisexual men focusing on partner communication; 2) an upcoming campaign for Latino gay and bisexual men to promote testing; 3) Know Where You Stand,^TM  promoting testing among black gay and bisexual men; and 4) Testing Makes Us Stronger^TM (TMUS) also promoting HIV testing among black gay and bisexual men. This research involved 10 rounds of message and concept testing, and 5 expert consultations.

Results: The formative research results revealed several common themes within and across the campaigns. Overall, the majority of participants viewed CDC as a trusted source of information, suggesting great source credibility for our messages. There is also overwhelming support, particularly from expert consultants, for positive and uplifting appeals, as opposed to more negative appeals like fear appeals or appeals to social belonging based on commonality of discrimination. Although qualitative evidence and consultant feedback suggest men want to see a range of body images, and do not need to see images of men being objectified, quantitative research suggests that men favored images of men with some skin showing rather than men who were fully clothed. There were some differences in appeals based on age.  Older men (particularly 45 and older) were more responsive to collective appeals, while younger men (18-29) were more receptive to individualistic appeals. Younger men preferred brief animated appeals (e.g., animated banner ads) to lengthier ones (approximately 15 seconds).  Our research also suggests that some appeals for gay and bisexual men may be equally effective with other audiences.  For example, some of our outdoor materials promoting HIV testing for black gay and bisexual men were also tested with black heterosexual men and women. When there was not explicit messaging for gay men, then all audiences were receptive to the ads, and believed the ads had been created for them.

Conclusions: There are important features of effective appeals for gay and bisexual men.  While there may be differences in receptivity to appeals based on age, we have found little evidence of differences based on race or ethnicity.  Finally, when resources are limited, or when channels are not targeted, it may be possible to develop materials that resonate with multiple audiences.

Implications for research and/or practice: For social marketing campaigns to be effective, it is critical that appropriate research is conducted with the intended audience and any messages, concepts and materials are developed based on the research results.