56 Dean Street: PrEP Awareness Week Campaign

56 Dean St is a sexual health clinic in Soho, London, part of Chelsea & Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Focusing on the LGBTQI+ community, they have a mission to take the shame out of sex and sexual health. They seek to change attitudes and behaviours to reduce transmissions and continue the fight against HIV. Despite the availability of free PrEP, the clinic had noticed an increase in young men testing positive for HIV.

With no HIV Testing Week in 2021 there was a space in the calendar for 56 Dean St to initiate a campaign to drive awareness of PrEP; our most powerful weapon against the disease.

PrEP Awareness Week (29th November - 5th December 2021) was designed to coincide with World AIDS Day, 1st December, when HIV was already top of mind for many. With limited budget, we used an integrated approach but with a focus on digital and social channels to engage hard-to-reach audiences and mobilise the LGBTQI+ community - and leverage a network of sexual health professionals. Many big name celebrities and influencers were happy to be involved for no fee, meaning we were able to achieve high levels of earned media without high-levels of spend. This was crucial to driving reach, supporting our ambition to raise awareness and ultimately; PrEP appointments.