The SF Needle Exchange program started in 1992 as an under-the-radar program sponsored by non-profit organization, the San Francisco Aids Foundation (SFAF). This program, though not legal at the time, distributed clean needles to IV drug users throughout San Francisco in order to minimize the spread of HIV that was attributed to the sharing of needles.

In 1996 J. Walter Thompson SF was approached by the SFAF to develop a campaign to warn the citys most vulnerable population, underage (under 18 yrs.), homeless IV drug users, about the dangers of sharing needles. Additionally they were asked to inform the target audience about the SFAFs Needle Exchange program.

While extremely excited about this opportunity, Account Planner Mark Tall was concerned about the following challenges. The target audience was an extremely small group, many of whom lived on the streets in the Mission, the Tenderloin and the Haight. They did not have access to traditional media (and cell phones were not common at this time). Because their drug use was illegal, they were hesitant to trust/speak with people they did not know. The Needle Exchange program was also illegal at this time, so exchanges worked mostly on a pop-up basis at drop in locations such as Larkin Street Youth Center, and via a small number of vans that circulated through the most affected neighborhoods on an intermittent basis.

If you had been the Account Planner assigned to this project.

1. What website you would visit first to start your secondary research (include the link)?

2. Which developmental (qualitative) research technique would you use for your primary research? Why?

3. Where would you place the finished ads to insure exposure?

4. How would you evaluate whether your campaign was successful or not?