Testing Makes Us Stronger: Digital Media and Grassroots Initiative in Virginia

Background:  VDH DDP was awarded the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund for Care and Prevention in the United States (CAPUS) Demonstration Project in 2012. VDH proposed marketing campaigns to raise awareness and increase testing among marginalized communities disproportionately impacted by HIV, including Black men who have sex with men (MSM).

Program background:  VDH DDP contracted with ND&P to localize the CDC Act Against AIDS: Testing Makes us Stronger (TMUS) campaign for use in Virginia. ND&P and VDH engaged stakeholders among the MSM community for feedback and buy-in throughout the planning and execution phases of the project.  ND&P planned an exciting digital marketing strategy that included geo-social dating apps, local LGBTQ websites, digital radio and other properties, including micro-targeting around bars.  An outreach/grassroots component included partnering with local community-based organizations and the Virginia minority MSM community advisory board. This initiative consisted of developing new TMUS campaign materials, packaging them with existing materials and condoms, and distributing them at venues and pride festivals frequented by the target audience.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  The digital program component was evaluated through tracking impressions, clicks, click-through-rates (CTR), and website traffic and zip code searches from the TMUS campaign site. Results were significantly higher than expected, with 57.5 million impressions, 252,000 clicks, and an overall 0.44% CTR. The grassroots component distributed over 45 kits. The kits were evaluated by surveys distributed to community members, service providers, and venue owners or managers.

Conclusions:  Geo-social and dating apps were excellent ways to reach the target audience, but the highest performing individual digital platform was Pandora digital radio. A pre-roll video used in this placement increased user engagement evidenced in response of clicks and CTR. There is a clear increase in traffic between the time periods before and during campaign implementation.  However, no conclusion can be drawn at this time on whether or not testing numbers have been impacted since this data was just received. While the paid media component outperformed expectations, the grassroots component was not as successful in Virginia, per follow-up surveys and general response. Respondents noted materials were not ideal because their venue clientele are mixed race and equally balanced between gay and straight, making the materials (targeted to black MSM) confusing to patrons. 

Implications for research and/or practice:  Audience testing was critical to narrowing the campaign materials – images deemed effeminate by the target audience, for example were excluded. Pairing the resulting audience-specific campaign images and messaging with a highly targeted digital media plan was extremely effective, and this process can be easily duplicated for similar projects. Based on data, surveys and social media response, it was evident the physical materials for venue distribution should appeal to a broader audience to allow for greater diversity and have greater impact. Overall, ongoing evaluation and inclusion of the target audience is crucial.  Community buy-in contributed to image selection, media plan validation, and venue selection for grassroots kit distribution. Without community buy-in, the program would not have been as successful.