10 Years of ‘Do It London’ HIV Prevention Campaign

It has been 10 years since all of London’s 32 boroughs started collaborating on a HIV prevention marketing campaigns when the ‘Do It London’ brand was launched by the London HIV Prevention Programme.

The focus was originally on using condoms and getting tested, but in recent years that has been extended to include raising awareness about PrEP as well as the U = U message, which means if someone has an undetectable viral load they cannot sexually transmit HIV to others.

This has been branded as the Be Sure: Know the Four campaign since 2022 and highlights the effectiveness of the four methods of prevention.

This year the campaign has run across social media, digital platforms, community radio stations and via outdoor advertisement, such as bus stops, train stations and billboards, over the late autumn and winter months.

London HIV Prevention Programme Lead Commissioner Robbie Currie said: ‘Each channel has its own merits in terms of reaching out to different populations. The outdoor advertisements are very much about reaching the whole population.

“But we know with HIV and PrEP it is important to target specific groups. Community radio is very effective at reaching out to the black/African community for example.

“On social media we have run campaigns on X and You Tube and we are also looking to experiment with Instagram and TikTok. There is a limited budget in local government so you have to think creatively about how to make sure your message goes far and wide and reaches the communities you are targeting.”

To help, Do It London has worked with influencers such as the actor Nathaniel Hall, who appear in the TV series It’s A Sin, as well as TV doctor Dr Ranj Singh, who have endorsed the campaign on social media. All the marketing assets are also made available to individual London councils for their local teams to amplify the campaign.

It certainly seems to be having an impact. In the past year there has been a 26 per cent increase in the use of PrEP and new HIV diagnoses have fallen by 7 per cent, continuing a longer-term trend which has seen them fall by 66 per cent in the past six years.