To coincide with Life Ball in Vienna, Vangardist Magazine released a special edition of their publication to fight against the stigma surrounding HIV. The editors wanted to make a direct statement to their thousands of readers- one which would create an emotional response in a heartbeat. So, what better way to connect people to the issue than by printing every line, word and picture of the edition with the cause of the stigma itself – HIV-positive blood.
By further putting the issue into a sealed wrapper, people picking up the magazine were confronted with an additional personal dilemma - break the seal and break the stigma, or ignore the issue.
The Brief
The HIV+ Issue has one simple goal: to combat the global stigma surrounding HIV+ by forcing people to confront pre-conceptions surrounding the virus and creating a campaign strong enough to drive mainstream editorial discussion outside of the traditional news cycle.
Despite growing infection rates around the world, for most people the issues facing those living with HIV pass unnoticed, new statistics go undiscussed, and discrimination goes unchallenged outside of key calendar moments linked to events such as World Aids Day.
However speak to anyone living with HIV and you will quickly realize that the stigma they live under is constant.
Execution
To create an emotional and moral response in a heartbeat, the editors of Vangardist transformed their publication into the cause of the stigma itself- they printed every word, line, picture and page with HIV positive blood. They then placed the magazine in a transparent wrapper encouraging people to break the seal and break the stigma.
Each stage of the production process, from the collection, and subsequent sterilization, of the HIV+ blood, through to the mixing of the ink and the printing of the magazines was carefully documented.
In week leading up to the magazine's on sale date, digital press kits were sent out to key editors around the world with links to moving and still imagery documenting the campaigns developing, pushing them through to sign up to receive a physical copy of the magazine.
People were also encouraged to share the edition online using #HIVHEROES
• 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 an earned media value of USD 2,9m
• On the day of entry, the edition was on its way to selling out, raising potentially EUR 150K of donations.
The Strategy
Produce and distribute a magazine printed entirely with ink infused with HIV+ blood
INSIGHT
Unless forced to confront pre-conceptions around HIV people never have cause to think about the stigma associated with coming into contact with the virus, let alone living with HIV.
Lack of open discussion only serves to compound these issues that are largely driven by ignorance and mis-information. The emergence of a highly focused editorial calendar for most causes that is linked to special 'days' and one off events only serves to further reduce discussion and debate within mainstream audiences.