Despite 30 years of campaigning, between 2004 and 2013 there was an 80% increase of new HIV infections. For this reason, to coincide with the LifeBall in Vienna, Vangardist decided to dedicated their whole edition to the topic.
We transformed the media into the cause of the stigma itself by printing every word, line and picture of the 3000 special edition with a combination of HIV+ blood and ink.
By further putting the issue into a sealed wrapper, people picking up the magazine were confronted with an additional dilemma- break the seal and the stigma or ignore the issue.
Results and Effectiveness
• One of the most trending topics on the net
• Received broad coverage on platforms like buzzfeed, mashable, iflscience.com
• Over 5,2m shares in the first ten days of the campaign
• More than 20mins of live coverage on news channels such as CBS-News, BBC, AlJazeera, etc
• Reaching out to an estimated audience of 54million
• Over 300 publications covered the topic in 28 countries across the globe.
• All coverage added up to a USD 2,9m earned media
• On the day of entry, the edition was on its way to selling out, raising potentially EUR 150K of donations.
Creative Execution
Given the relatively small audience of the local magazine, we had to rely strongly on PR and the distribution of our idea via KOLs and journalists across the globe.
Thus, we needed to reach their followers. Our message -#HIVheroes #breakthestigma #vangardist became one of the most trending topics in the world. Activities were backed up via an interactive platform, featuring video content and interviews around the project, leading to a call to stand up against stigma on social media.
Insights, Strategy and the Idea
We wanted to raise awareness for the magazine, outside the gay community, addressing potential readers by confronting people with their resentment towards HIV-positive people and the stigma that surrounds the virus.
Besides targeting existing followers, we wanted to reach the entire world with our message. We were able to approach Key Opinion Leaders and journalists who promoted our project to their followers all across the globe. This resulted in massive PR coverage and a buzz in social media over two months.