Gay health charity moves onto MySpace
Gay Men Fighting Aids is using an internet community resource to ask for feedback on their new advertising campaigns.
The charity, which was founded in 1992, is responsible for HIV and STI prevention strategy and delivery in the London area.
They produce three new mass media campaigns a year, which run in the gay press.
They are aimed at the gay male community. GMFA also provide courses about sexual well being for gay men.
Their new site on MySpace will allow people to view upcoming campaigns before they appear in the press.
The first campaign to be pre-tested this way, Reasons for staying safe, will be available online this week.
Comments from visitors to the site will be used to shape the final design and a selection of views will be posted online.
“Community feedback has always been an integral part of our campaign development and we always get great suggestions from guys on the scene,” said Matthew Hodson, GMFA’s Head of Programmes.
“Extending that feedback to an online forum gives us an opportunity to hear the views of many more men.”
Currently, all GMFA campaigns are scrutinised during pre-testing in bars and clubs before they are published.
If this internet trial is successful, online feedback could be used for future campaigns.
It is estimated that over half of gay men in London have an internet profile, and GMFA plan more internet innovations later this year with the launch of a new interactive health promotion campaign.
“Our new website is getting thousands of hits, so it makes sense to test our campaigns online too,” explained Mr Hodson.
You can view the new campaign by clicking here
