Baltimore has the second highest rate of new AIDS cases per year in the United States.
And that number is increasing.
Last week, Mayor Sheila Dixon, The After-School Institute, the state Department of Health and 92Q-FM unveiled their plans for the “Spread the Word … Not the Disease,” a social marketing campaign targeting Baltimore City youth.
The After-School Institute, a Baltimore-based organization that provides after-school programs, and 21st Century Group, a local advertising and public relations firm organized the campaign. Part of a larger training program to build knowledge about risk reduction, the campaign promotes abstinence, condom use and HIV testing under the slogan “Spread the word, not the disease ? AIDS is no joke.”
“We want to sound the alarm that AIDS is a serious problem,” said Rebkha Atnafou, director of The After-School Institute. “We need to stress the gravity of this situation.”
The campaign also targets the people who work and live with young people, such as teachers and parents.
“Although it?s awkward for parents to talk to their kids about sex, we did focus groups and found that kids are still frequently impacted by messages that their parents offered them,” said Adrian Harpool, president of 21st Century Group. “There?s a lot of basic things that parents impart to their kids, and while the kids may resent the manner or tone it?s delivered in, it actually does get through.”
Television and radio public service announcements, bus shelter posters, T-shirts, wristbands and print advertisements are all elements of the campaign.
“We are hoping [the wristbands and T-shirts] will create some walking ambassadors for the message and that it will spark conversations,” Harpool said.
A Web site, www.SpreadTheWordBaltimore.com, was designed to inform the public about the campaign as well.
“Our message is clear: It?s a big problem, but it?s a preventable problem,” Atnafou said. “We want to be the collective voice for this issue.”
