Excellence in Engagement Through Digital Channels

Summary of work

The agency was challenged with changing behaviour in a population of gay men at high risk of becoming HIV positive. The solution was to target those with a >10% chance of becoming HIV+ within a year and to tailor a lifestyle intervention that offered emotional and educational support through managed content delivered directly to their mobile. Accessing them through their mobiles was a key strategy as this group showed high levels of engagement with online mobile media for sexual purposes. A digital lifestyle intervention called PRIME was developed, offering an enhanced clinic service, delivered through mobile.

Members join one of five personalised interventions to access support to help them make responsible choices about their sexual behaviour. Monthly content updates kept engagement high, with texts pulling members on to the mobile site when it was updated. Content was kept interactive with monthly polls and an ongoing online event programme. 89% of users said that PRIME has helped them to stay HIV negative. In terms of outcomes, PRIME users saw a 94% fall in HIV infection risk along with a >50% reduction in other sexually transmitted diseases.

Judges' comments

We were bowled over by PRIME. The team had the clearest objectives we saw and obviously knew their audience really well. They had a tough audience segment to reach but did so through a creative and, entirely appropriate, use of mobile technology. It was a clear winner from the moment we saw it, and we loved the fact that the focus was on a service as well as a value. As an industry we should be making more use of this kind of service-based use of digital. The team’s focused use of targeting clearly made a difference and showed they had an impact on testing. Leaving no stone unturned, the team took a well structured, modern and data-driven approach to content and the work’s selling point is its impact – it’s literally saving lives.