Beau J. Mitts, MPHHarris County Hospital District
Ricardo MendiolaHouston Department of Health and Human Services
Tracy L. TormaTorma Communications
Karen H. RussellIncremental Marketing
American Public Health AssociationSan Francisco, CA
November 18, 2003
The New Faces of HIV in Houston:
A Social Marketing Campaign
Developing the Campaign
• Establish a Timeline• Formative Research
– Determine Target Audience• African American Women, Hispanic Men,
Caucasian MSMs, etc.
– Use Quantitative, Epidemiological Data• Local or state health department
• Focus Group Research– 8-12 people for 1 to 1 ½ hours– Representative of Target Audience
• Develop a Theme or Central Message– “We look just like you, but you don’t have to
be like us”
• Determine Methods of Evaluation– Number of phone calls, number of tests, etc.
• Determine Appropriate Media– Print, radio, television, billboards, transit
• Develop Campaign Materials– Brochures, posters, hotline, radio spots,
billboards, etc.
Developing the Campaign
• Brochures (8,000)– Specifically targeting African American
women distributed in beauty salons
• Posters (1,500)– Distributed in barber and music shops
• Large Stickers (2,000)– Distributed in bars and community
restrooms
• Small Stickers (2,000)– Distributed in condom packets
New Faces Materials
• Transit Placards (1,100)– Displayed on every METRO bus
• Radio Spots (200)– Aired on two local African American stations
• HIV Information Line Established– 281-HIV-INFO (281-448-4636)– Contracted with the United Way Helpline– 24 hours a day/7 days a week
New Faces Materials
Bureaucratic Obstacles• Purchasing Policies
– Purchase Order vs. Contract– At what dollar amount will a bid process
have to be initiated?– Does your agency have contracted vendors?
• Public Relations Policies– Photo releases from participants
• Telecommunication Policies– Hotline/information line establishment
• Grant Funds vs. General Funds– Separate accounting/signature
requirements
Broaden the Campaign Reach• Collaborate with Another
Agency– Harris County Hospital District (HCHD)
and Houston Department of Health and Human Services (HDHHS)
– HCHD paid for print development and printing, some radio air time, and HIV Information Line ($70,000)
– HDHHS paid for radio development and radio air time ($30,000)
• Generate Media Interest– Launch campaign on a date of interest such
as Worlds AIDS Day– Have a press conference
• Invite prominent community members such as the mayor, county commissioner, city council members, HIV community leaders, etc.
• Have ONE person assigned to coordinate contact with the media!!!
– Develop an informative press kit– Pitch the story to local news outlets
• A nationally recognized day with a local tie-in• Send press releases
Broaden the Campaign Reach
New Faces Media Coverage• Front page coverage by the
Houston Chronicle on Sunday, December 1, 2002
• Five television stations provided news coverage (CBS, Fox, WB, KXLN, and News 24)
• Three radio stations provided news coverage
• HIV Plus Magazine – May 2003
Campaign Monitoring & Evaluation
• Determine a Distribution Method– Who will distribute the campaign materials?
Will this be an added expense? Will a specific area/location be targeted?
• Keep a Materials Inventory– Know to whom and how many of the
materials are distributed
• Have Established Evaluation Criteria– Determined during the campaign
development– Such as number of HIV tests, number of calls
to hotline, number of brochures distributed, etc.
New Faces Evaluation• Number of HIV Information Line calls
December 2002
79 June 2003 18
January 2003 44 July 2003 29
February 2003
68 August 2003 33
March 2003 33September 2003
34
April 2003 21 October 2003 19
May 2003 19
• Number of HCHD HIV Tests
New Faces Evaluation
November 2002
132
May 2003222
December 2002
144
June 2003195
January 2003153
July 2003208
February 2003
125
August 2003194
March 2003223
September 2003
183
April 2003201
October 2003265
• Number of HDHHS HIV Tests
New Faces Evaluation
November 2002 1,485
December 2002 1,503
January 2003 1,577
February 2003 1,804
March 2003 1,607
April 2003 1,733
Update
• World AIDS Day – December 1, 2003
• Direct Mail Postcard– 87,000 Postcards– Seven Houston Zip Codes– Highest Prevalence of HIV/AIDS
among African Americans• Additional Radio Spots (81)
– Aired on one local African American station
Contact InformationBeau J. Mitts, MPH
Harris County Hospital DistrictHIV Projects Department2525 Holly Hall StreetHouston, TX [email protected]://www.hchdonline.com/hivprojects
Ricardo MendiolaHouston Department of Health and Human ServicesBureau of HIV/STD Prevention8000 N. Stadium Drive, 5th floorHouston, TX [email protected]