Feb. 11, 2014 18:36 UTC
A Lesson for the U.S. during Condom Awareness Month
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
DKT
International is proud to release its 2013 annual impact data for
family planning and HIV prevention among its 21 programs in 19 countries
worldwide. In 2013, 23 million couples were served; 8.3 million unwanted
pregnancies were prevented. 12,364 maternal deaths and 1.8 million
abortions were averted.
“Valentine’s Day is a time to focus on romance. And there is no better
way to say ‘I care’ than to use condoms and family planning so that
romance has a healthy future,” says Christopher Purdy, President and CEO
of DKT International. “Fortunately, the U.S. adopted National Condom
Month, reminding us that one of the easiest ways to blend romance with
reality is to use a condom. The U.S. still has the highest rates of STDs
in the industrialized world, costing our healthcare system about $16
billion every year. If the numbers are daunting in the U.S., where
information and healthcare resources are readily available, the less
developed world faces even greater challenges, and that’s where we’re
making a big difference. The U.S. might consider adopting some of the
social marketing tactics that have proven so successful for DKT
International.”
In 2013, DKT International provided more than 458 million condoms – or
more than 50,000 condoms per hour, in the developing countries we serve.
DKT makes condoms widely available and easily affordable, and encourages
their use through social marketing on any channel that reaches potential
condom users, including the Internet, at concerts, on outdoor
billboards, and at festivals. Purdy adds, “We will use any media through
which we can reach the right audience with a resonating message.”
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DKT
Ethiopia continued to broaden its reach into rural areas of
Ethiopia. Faced with geographical challenges, misconceptions and
myths, DKT Ethiopia fielded 15 teams to educate women about family
planning and the use of condoms to prevent HIV. Focusing on 1,000+
market towns, DKT’s teams give women counseling, lead group
discussions, and provided referrals to nearby pharmaceutical outlets.
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DKT
China made history when during the 2013
China AIDS Walk a giant blue dancing condom named Mojo
made its appearance
atop the Great Wall. DKT began distribution of MOJO Love Condoms, with
close to two million condoms sold in the brand’s first year.
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DKT’s Brazilian
brand, Prudence,
hit 2013 with the slogan “Quem usa Prudence manda bem” (“Who
wears Prudence rocks”). The company’s program to preach the gospel of
safe sex in main Brazilian cities included its “Test-a-Condom” program,
which achieved tremendous social media success. On World
AIDS Day 2013, DKT
Brazil went all out with street performances and women wearing QR
code stickers in nightclubs. Condom samples and random prizes,
including a year’s supply of condoms, were distributed. The online
story received 12 million impressions in its first month, with 2.5
million impressions per day. HIV currently affects more than 600,000
Brazilians.
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In Turkey,
DKT International has expanded its use of the Internet and social
media to help build Fiesta,
a premium condom brand, and promote sales and condom use. With a new
website, Facebook page, Google AdWords, an e-newsletter, viral
marketing, banner ads and bloggers, Fiesta achieved strong recognition
among the target audience of sexually active young people. Sales
reached 4.3 million condoms in the first 18 months. In contrast, Kiss,
a far more inexpensive DKT condom, launched at the same time but with
no digital campaign, sold 2.6 million, proving the importance of
online marketing in today’s emerging markets.
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In India and Indonesia,
DKT demonstrated that myths and women’s concerns about IUD use can be
successfully overcome. Women have expressed concerns about the
effectiveness, cost and size of IUDs – all addressed by DKT’s ad campaign
with media analysts estimating that tens of millions of women have
seen or heard these messages. Government data shows that the number of
IUD users has continued to increase.
DKT’s plans for 2014 include continuing to promote disease prevention
and family planning through widespread condom use in all of the
countries in which it has a presence. www.dktinternational.org