Social Media During AIDS Education Month

This summer, I am interning at The Wilma Theater.  The show that the Wilma is currently putting on is Angels in America.  For those who have not seen the HBO miniseries, Angels tackles the serious subject of HIV-AIDS from a theatrical stand-point.  In quite the coincidence, Angels at the Wilma is being performed during Philadelphia’s Aids Education month, which is lead by Philadelphia Fight.  Philadelphia Fight is an AIDS service organization that provides care, education, advocacy and research on potential treatments and vaccines to Philadelphia.  

Philadelphia Fight has taken to social media during AIDS Education month to promote the events they will be holding during June.  Through their Facebook page, Fight has consistently been promoting events that have been coming up and encouraging discussion of events.  They have also been promoting an event called, Update Your Status Recently?  When someone gets tested for HIV, many people call it finding their status on HIV.  By using a play on words, Fight has created a campaign, targeted to a younger audience, that uses the idea of  updating a Facebook status to updating an individual’s HIV status.  This campaign is being used to urge individuals to get tested on National HIV Testing Day, by encouraging those who get tested to ‘check-in’ at a participating testing location on June 27^th.  Those who participate will receive a free slice of pizza from 13^th Street Pizza and a free drink ticket to a local bar.  They will also be entered in a raffle to win bigger prizes such as a flat screen TV. The ad being used for National HIV Testing Day looks like the homepage of Facebook.

Fight has also recently joined YouTube.  The first video they posted highlights the 2011 AIDS Education Month by showing speakers who are HIV positive share stories and speak about Fight.  By posting this in March of 2012, they raised awareness and interest for the upcoming month of June, when AIDS Education month would occur again.  Their most recent video was the “Update Your Status Recently?” campaign.  It promoted the event and encouraged individuals to participate in National HIV Testing Day.  Fight also has a Twitter handle, @PhillyFight, where they have been promoting AIDS Education month and continually promoting Fight research and HIV facts.  To see more social media that Philadelphia Fight is doing to promote AIDS Education month, visit their website at www.fight.org.


This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jackie Grillo