Page contents: Commonwealth Games Safe Sex Campaign | DHS Commonwealth Games Safe Sex Campaign Final Report – Executive Summary Convenience Advertising (Aust) Pty Ltd

Commonwealth Games Safe Sex Campaign

The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne from 15–26 March.

Research has shown that mass gatherings, such as the Olympic and Commonwealth Games, attract a ‘party’ atmosphere marked with increases in illicit drug use, alcohol consumption, and subsequently, risky sexual behaviours.

As such, the Blood Borne Viruses/Sexually Transmissible (BBV/STI) Program initiated a month-long public health safe sex campaign in order to minimise potential increases in STIs arising from Games-related celebrations.

The objectives of the narrowcast campaign were to promote safe sex through condom use, and provide the Better Health Channel website as a referral point for people who have concerns about their sexual health. The target audience comprised 18-35 year olds who were patrons of pubs and clubs in inner Melbourne or travellers in transit through Melbourne Airport.

Convenience Advertising conducted an evaluation of the campaign and presented their findings to the Department on 27 April 2006. The Executive Summary of their report is presented below along with a copy of the creative used for the campaign. In summary, the campaign was very successful in generating high-level awareness of the safe sex message with the target audience.

DHS Commonwealth Games Safe Sex Campaign Final Report – Executive Summary Convenience Advertising (Aust) Pty Ltd

This report details the installation process, maintenance and venue feedback for the 2006 Commonwealth Games Safe Sex in-venue narrowcast campaign.

Developed on behalf of the Department of Human Services (VIC), the narrowcast strategy employed by Convenience Advertising aimed to advocate safe sex practices as a preventative measure against sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Primarily targeting Melbournians as well as interstate and overseas travellers to Melbourne during the Commonwealth Games, the campaign involved the placement of more than 1500 display points in airports, bars, hotels, nightclubs, and accommodation and entertainment venues in Melbourne.

In total, 146 venues were contracted by Convenience Advertising during the month of March, accounting for approximately 477,043 weekly patron visits.

An evaluation and venue feedback for the campaign indicated that the Commonwealth Games Safe Sex campaign was particularly effective in raising an awareness of the association between STI infection and unsafe sex through the promotion of condom use.

Specifically, the evaluation indicated:

• 87 per cent total recall rate
• 64 per cent unprompted recall rate
• 78 per cent recalled seeing a poster in the bathrooms
• 69 per cent recalled the posters with no or minimal prompting
• 18 per cent recalled the posters with visual prompting
• 78 per cent total message recall for time period 1*
• 95 per cent total message recall for time period 2
• 47 per cent unprompted message recall for time period 1
• 81 per cent unprompted message recall for time period 2

Overall, the evaluation results demonstrated the ability of narrowcast advertising to inform and educate. Bathroom advertising in this instance has raised an awareness of the consequences of unsafe sex and has informed the target audience of the rise in STI infections. Furthermore, the messages were able to direct the target audience to further information by promoting the Victorian State Government's Better Health website.

* Time period 1 refers to the first two weeks of March, before the Commonwealth Games commenced (1-14 March). Time period 2 refers to the last two weeks of March, during which the Games were held.