LetsStopAIDS

SCOPE OF WORK

LetsStopAIDS is Canada’s largest youth-driven HIV/AIDS charity, mobilizing young people in Canada and around the world towards active participation in eradicating the AIDS epidemic by 2030. LetsStopAIDS focuses on HIV prevention and knowledge exchange, empowering youth to create a meaningful change. The charity aims to engage young Canadians in raising awareness about tools for HIV prevention and fostering community action for zero new youth-HIV infections.

In 2022, LetsStopAIDS partnered with Matte PR to amplify its activities and educate the public on critical issues impacting those living with AIDS. It produced its first-ever LetsStopAIDS’ Sex Lives Report, released July 25, 2022, ahead of the International AIDS Conference, AIDS 2022. The agency also wrote and produced LetsStopAIDS’ annual impact report.

MPP Chris Glover and founder and president of LetsStopAIDS, Shamin Mohamed Jr., at LetsStopAIDS 18th Anniversary

STRATEGY

Matte PR strategically leveraged LetsStopAIDS’ calendar of significant events and dedicated efforts to train spokespersons, fostering brand awareness and propelling the organization forward. We leveraged LetsStopAIDS’s upcoming activities at Pride Toronto, the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022) in Montreal and the charity’s 18th anniversary to position them as a thought-leadership voice in the nationwide discussion on youth sexual health and HIV/AIDS.

Sex Lives Report spotlight

The charity’s report examined how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the sexual behaviour of young Canadians, based on a nationally representative survey of 1,018 Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24. Key findings from the report reinforced the importance of prioritizing HIV/AIDS education and prevention specifically for young people.

The report identified several aspects of sexual behaviour among youth, including risk, sexually transmitted infections, mental health and online dating. It also highlights how youth will play an essential role in developing strategies for ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Matte PR embarked on the challenge of securing coverage in tier-one daily newspapers across Canada. We set a KPI of 30 stories in national and local newspapers across Canada. To confirm our top media targets, Matte PR conducted a content analysis of the media landscape to uncover which journalists would be best suited to work with. With this list in hand, we created a distribution plan and leveraged key media relationships to line stories up ahead of the official release, securing coverage in both the National Post and the Toronto Star weekend papers and online.

RESULTS

LetsStopAIDS sees media relations as one of the most powerful tools for building credibility and positioning the charity as a go-to source for youth health commentary in Canada. Matte PR’s ability to achieve such exceptional results was largely driven by the Sex Lives Report.

Sex Lives Report results

Through the program, we secured 150 pieces of coverage for LetsStopAIDS with a total reach of 105,924,698.

Matte PR secured spotlight coverage in tier-one publications such as the National Post and The Toronto Star, CTV News and Radio Canada. LetsStopAIDS secured coverage in broadcast segments featuring notable spokespersons, discussing pertinent and topical health topics within the landscape.

A total of 71 pieces of media coverage was secured for the Sex Lives Report, with media impressions totalling 41,804,418. The National Post story was syndicated to 43 Postmedia papers across Canada. It appeared online in the Vancouver Sun and Ottawa Citizen. It was in print in the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal and Windsor Star and Regina Leader-Post. Other press highlights include Montreal Gazette, CTV News Channel, Narcity, Le Journal de Montréal, XTRA.ca, and The Hamilton Spectator.

Press highlights: