A Campaign to Promote PreP Education with Unique Branding and Message

The HIV/AIDS prevention landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years. The Mount Sinai Institute for Advanced Medicine teamed with Say It With A Condom to deliver an effective and different awareness campaign using custom condoms to grab attention in a truly dynamic way.

By using custom printed foil condoms to advocate for PrEP and PEP education, it is putting information directly into the hands of the people who need to be aware of it most. That is exactly what Mount Sinai is trying to do and with Say It With A Condom they have a partner in the battle.

Awareness as a Weapon

Condoms are an essential part of safer sex, but they also present a unique opportunity to market a brand or message. Even HIV negative people on PrEP should be using condoms. In a sense, condoms can save a person’s life by using them and by passing a message to the masses.

There are so many people of all shapes, sizes, and colors who are affected by this epidemic. According to Mount Sinai, the rush of people seeking service and education tends to overwhelm more accessible sites (like emergency rooms, etc.) because that is the first place people think of when seeking information or assistance with the risks of HIV/AIDS. Mount Sinai wants to provide people with information to get the drugs they need in order to get them out of the emergency rooms, as well as make PrEP more available than ever before.

“Condoms have more impact than pamphlets and flyers, because they are usable and practical tools, and people trust the Say It With A Condom products more than the average NYC condoms you see everywhere,” says Diane Tider, the Director of Prevention at the Institute of Advanced Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System.

Direct Distribution

By providing face-to-face dispersal, it allows for the marketing of the message to pack a bigger punch. Custom condom packaging provides the opportunity to offer people something different, putting the tools in the hands of the public to manage these diseases and printing right on the condom foil makes it easier to get the message across.

Mount Sinai distributes custom condoms in their emergency rooms, hospital and clinic waiting rooms, and by prevention staff and outreach teams. They are also distributed at PRIDE tables, events that target high risk groups, as well as places of interests such as nightclubs. The initiative by Mount Sinai is funded by New York City, New York State and federal grants.

In New York, many insurance plans (including Medicaid) cover PrEP and PEP but there are many people who do not have insurance at all. Mount Sinai wants to assists everyone, increasing access to medical and prevention services. If you are uninsured or underinsured, they want to help you.

Winning the Crusade

Along with consistent social media campaigns, a 24-hour hotline, groups, and programs, Mount Sinai continues to think outside-the-box in terms of marketing their message. They offer a once-a-month event for PrEP and PEP information, as well as HIV and Hepatitis screening along with their continual condom crusade.

PrEP availability and education, along with HIV/AIDS prevention work seem like a never-ending fight, but by giving people the tools and the message to educate and arm themselves against the struggle, Mount Sinai is building an essential force to combat ignorance and disregard of this serious epidemic. In hand with Say It With A Condom, Mount Sinai takes a massive step closer to the goal of resolving this epidemic on an individual basis, one person at a time.