As HIV/AIDS continues to disproportionately affect Southerners in general and Blacks in particular, GSK’s ViiV Healthcare, the only pharma firm solely focused on that medical area, tackles the problem head-on with an educational awareness activation during Alabama State University’s homecoming football weekend in Montgomery this Friday and Saturday.
Covering a pre-game concert, tailgating and the actual game against Florida A&M, the activities include vans for free confidential HIV testing; prevention messages on pushcarts; distributing materials like popsicles, paper fans and LED fans for the hot weather (the forecast calls for a high of 86 degrees); stadium signage; dining hall posters; and a short video that will run during the events.
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Alabama State is one of the country’s HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities), and this first-of-its-kind effort from ViiV could extend to other HBCUs in the South based on how the weekend goes, Dr. Alftan Dyson, Viiv regional medical lead and U.S. DEI medical engagement lead, tells Marketing Daily.
Citing an “urgent need for prevention and awareness efforts,” Dr. Dyson notes that the South is accounting for 53% of new HIV diagnoses, and that Blacks account for 50% of new cases among 13- to 24-year-olds.
The HIV testing is being provided by Five Horizons Health Services, one of several community groups involved in the weekend’s activations. Other partners include the Knights and Orchids Society, the Council on Substance Abuse and the university’s own ASU Health Services.
Awareness materials direct people to ViiV’s “HIV Prevention For Us,” an educational website.
Dr. Dyson hopes that the homecoming setting -- which, in addition to students, also brings in community members and alumni -- can also help reduce stigma associated wit hHIV/AIDS by “normalizing the conversation around sexual health, wellness and HIV prevention.”
The target audience, she stresses, is “anyone who is sexually active,” both males and females. “HIV prevention is for everyone.”
The weekend’s activations are being handled by Harley & Company, with GCI Health handling earned media.