MovePH’s #StayNegatHIVe campaign wins bronze at Boomerang Awards

MANILA, Philippines – One of MovePH’s campaigns captured a Bronze at the Boomerang Awards that was held at the Philippine International Convention Center on Wednesday night, October 12.

The Boomerangs, which is regarded as the “Oscars” of digital advertising in the Philippines, honored the campaign #StayNegatHIVe under the NGO and government institutions advocacies category.

The campaign sought to raise awareness on human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) in the Philippines.

The country has the fastest growing HIV epidemic in the world. According to the World Health Organization, around 25 people get HIV in the Philippines everyday. If the epidemic is not curbed, the number of people living with HIV (PLHIVs) may reach 133,000 by 2022, the Department of Health said, 

MovePH, Rappler’s civic engagement arm, initiated the digital campaign in partnership with the advocacy group LoveYourself and advertising firm DM9 JaymeSyfu. #StayNegatHIVe ran during the last quarter of 2015 in a concerted effort of Movers and citizen journalists from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Campaign impact

From June to August 2015, the MovePH team went around the Philippines to recruit and train citizen journalists and advocates in a series of workshops that discussed issues that matter to their communities. Many workshop participants expressed their concern on the growing number of HIV/AIDS infected individuals who seldom undergo the right treatment in their areas. (READ: #StayNegatHIVe: We need to talk about HIV/AIDS)

As a result of the digital campaign, the number of people who availed themselves of HIV testing services through LoveYourself increased by 60%. The group said that the award will inspire advocates to scale up the information drive.

“There are still so many people who have not been reached and must be encouraged to get tested. That is why we will continue our HIV awareness initiatives in the digital space,” LoveYourself volunteer Paul Junio said.

DM9 JaymeSyfu also won Bronze for the same campaign under the awareness category.

The Boomerangs, which was introduced by the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) in 2008, honors Philippine advertisers and agencies whose campaigns and programs exemplified digital marketing effectiveness. – With a report from David Lozada/Rappler.com