Posted by hpcr on May 09, 2012  |   Comment  |   Subscribe

 
[Editor's Note: In its efforts to enrich professional dialogue on contemporary challenges of humanitarian law and policy, the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) at Harvard University invites experts in international humanitarian law, humanitarian action, and associated fields to contribute their insights to relevant discussions. HPCR is pleased to welcome the contribution below from Ms. Claudia Gonzalez, Head of Marketing of The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, where she manages branding, marketing and social media. She will be one of the expert panelists at the 10 May 2012 Live Web Seminar on "Social Media as a Tool for Humanitarian Protection".]
 
 
November 8th, 2011 was an important day for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  Secretary Hillary Clinton was speaking at the National Institute of Health on the next steps for the fight against HIV/AIDS, where she made the creation of an AIDS-free generation a top priority for the US government for the first time, and thus clearly putting it as a key issue in the international agenda.
 
For the Global Fund, this meant a huge positive change and an incredible support to our cause, a shift that we had been fighting for in particular since May 2010, with the launch of the Born HIV Free Campaign.  The road that led to that announcement was carefully planned and the Global Fund had envisioned three main goals: to put vertical HIV transmission on the global agenda, get the taxpayers from donor countries to support the cause, and expose the organization to millions of people.
 
In order to have the highest impact during the 6 months that lasted the campaign, we focused on a digital strategy supported by offline activities to create momentum.  We had a partnership with YouTube that allowed boosting our videos and having amazing events such as the streaming of a Paul McCartney concert, a strategic and constant petition through our website, Facebook and Twitter, and an active offline and online involvement of the general public. Those were just a few of the elements that were used for the first time at the Global Fund and that made this a successful and well rounded digital campaign.
 
Thanks to the strategic flow of our message, we reached an unprecedented audience. As Jon Liden, the Director of Communications during that period commented: “Our Executive Director told me that when he met the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, that day, she said she couldn’t go anywhere without seeing or hearing something about the Global Fund.” And at the end, it was estimated that around 250 million people were exposed to the campaign. 
 
What made this campaign unique was that the Global Fund’s message was not only out there, but it resonated with influential actors, translated into commitments, and brought more people behind a cause that many thought impossible before: ending mother to child HIV transmission by 2015.