FREE COFFEE MADE BY PEOPLE WITH HIV

Short List
TitleFREE COFFEE MADE BY PEOPLE WITH HIV
BrandAIDS CONCERN HONG KONG
Product / ServiceNON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
CategoryC08. Charities, Public Health, Safety & Awareness Messages
EntrantTBWA\DIGITAL ARTS NETWORK Hong Kong, HONG KONG
Entrant Company TBWA\DIGITAL ARTS NETWORK Hong Kong, HONG KONG
Advertising Agency TBWA\DIGITAL ARTS NETWORK Hong Kong, HONG KONG

Credits

Name Company Position
Esther Wong TBWA\Hong Kong Executive Creative Director
Ken Hui TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Creative Team
Mike Wu TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Creative Team
Jacqueline Hung TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Creative Team
Chika Tsang TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Creative Team
Penny Lau TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Creative Team
Ric Dunn TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Creative Team
Harry Yiu TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Video Production
Joanne Lao TBWA\Hong Kong CEO, Greater China
Pauline Wong TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Business Director
Anthony Lam TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Senior Account Manager
Latona Lai TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Senior Account Manager
Gerald Tam TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Account Manager
Jan Cho TBWA\Hong Kong General Manager
Terence Ling TBWA\Digital Arts Network\Hong Kong Head of Planning

Brief Explanation

There are a number of organisations and government bodies that aim to reduce stigma. Their approach falls into conventions: numerous ‘ribbon-cutting ceremonies’ over the years with celebrities and officials; traditional education through seminars and newsletters; slogans that fail to be recalled. As such, it’s understandable that the general public have become blind, deaf and mute to such wallpaper messages and activities. Anything but a conventional approach would achieve this. This was an activation to address AIDS Concern’s charter of Zero-HIV-Related-Stigma by engaging with the general public of Hong Kong. Using a free coffee promotion, we are able to engage with both sides of the issue: the supporters and antagonists. For every cup of coffee taken, it was a clear activation that this person had considered the issue. In fact, even onlookers are activated to consider the issue.

The Brief

AIDS Concern needed to raise awareness about stigma and change the attitude people have towards people with HIV. The challenge was that the subject is considered taboo and people didn’t want to engage. The strategy was to lure them into the conversation and force them to confront the issue. Anything but a conventional approach would achieve this. This problem had to be tackled using the no more than US$30K.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

2.3 million people were reached by this campaign, breaking records in AIDS Concern’s 25-year history. This is equivalent to a third of Hong Kong’s population. With a campaign budget of US$30K inclusive of media and production costs, that’s US$.013 per person reached. The awareness was greatly amplified by the international coverage that was earned, including over a dozen press articles, two radio interviews, 50 blog posts in five different languages and over 300 social media posts. On Facebook alone, the film of the experience achieved over 3,700 likes, comments and shares. From an independently conducted study, 97% of research respondents say they see people with HIV more positively after watching the film that documented the experience. AIDS-related organisations in France and Taiwan have contracted AIDS Concern to adopt the campaign in their own country. This demonstrates the scalability of such a simple yet disruptive idea.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

We needed a non-threatening way to communicate with our target audience. On 29 November 2014, we sent a coffee truck to five of the city’s busiest areas offering free coffee made by people with HIV. Over three days, promoters invited pedestrians up for a cup. No lecture about HIV. No persuasion to accept the coffee. We recorded the experience and shared it online. Our use of celebrity influencers helped to spread the message online through social media and traditional news outlets.