HIV Test? STD Test? I'm on It! Lessons Learned from Implementing a Latino-Focused HIV and STD Testing Social Marketing Campaign in Santa Clara County, California

Background: If current HIV diagnoses rates persist, a quarter of Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) in the United States will be diagnosed with HIV during their lifetime.  In 2012, there were 120 new cases of HIV/AIDS in Santa Clara County, the large majority of which were in men (88%). Forty-one percent of these new cases occurred in Latinos, who represent 27% of the county’s population. The earlier someone knows they have HIV, the earlier they can seek care and take measures to protect themselves and their partners.

Program background: The Santa Clara County Public Health Department’s STD/HIV Prevention & Control collaborated with John Snow, Inc. (JSI), a public health research and consulting organization, to launch “I’m On It!,” a county-wide social marketing campaign to increase HIV and STD testing for young Latino men who have sex with men (MSM). Initially developed in 2013, the  I’m On It! campaign was based on formative research with MSM populations that identified baseline HIV testing-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors; provided  feedback on existing HIV testing campaigns and  preferred communication channels. The campaign was revamped in 2016 with a focus on Latino MSM between the ages of 18-44. Adaptations included targeted media placements and outreach events, the development of new creative, and materials in both English and Spanish. The campaign was also modified to promote STD testing, in addition to HIV testing. Ads featured the tagline “HIV test? STD test? I’m on it.” with a call-to-action to visit www.GetTestedSCC.org that provided information about and linked people to testing. Ads ran for the month of February 2016 on local radio stations and Pandora, social media (Facebook, Instagram), and mobile sites (Univision, Grindr). Outreach events were conducted in partnership with Project MORE, a local nonprofit serving the LGBTQ community.

Evaluation Methods and Results: To evaluate I’m On It! in Santa Clara County, we tracked the distribution, placement, and reach of physical materials, digital and mobile advertisements, and social media campaigns. JSI conducted follow-up phone calls with Project MORE, who assisted in the distribution of materials. Across communication channels, we estimate the total reach of I’m On It! in Santa Clara County to be over 4.2 million impressions (non-unique). With the assistance of Project MORE, JSI distributed approximately 2000 outreach packets containing I’m on it!-branded condoms, lube, stickers, and other promotional items.

Conclusions: Social marketing campaigns provide the opportunity to tailor HIV prevention messages for populations that are disproportionately burdened by the epidemic. Public health departments and other agencies should consider implementing social marketing through digital and mobile advertisements to promote HIV and STD testing among young Latino MSM populations. Social media and digital ads combined with local outreach events successfully reached the Latino MSM target audience.

Implications for research and/or practice: This presentation has implications for further research and practice by helping to identify promising approaches and lessons learned that the public health community can build upon in developing future HIV and STD social marketing campaigns focused on a young Latino MSM population.