THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

The Shorty Awards honor the best of social media and digital. View this season's finalists!

Special Project

Special Project
From the 8th Annual Shorty Impact Awards

Our Gay Agenda: Housing Works Community Healthcare

Finalist in LGBTQ+

Bronze Honor in Local Campaign

Objectives

The context: 
At its inception in 1970, Pride was a riot. It took 30 long years of activism and organizing for America to recognize Pride Month. Over time this activism continued and LGBTQIA+ people became more visible than ever before. In recent years, celebrating Pride was trending towards normal, sometimes even critiqued for being too corporate and losing its defiant roots. 

Leading up to Pride in 2023, a significant cultural and political shift occurred. Homophobic sentiment and hate rose sharply, and the Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQIA+ people in America. Pride campaigns from national brands, especially campaigns celebrating trans people, were suddenly met with a tidal wave of hate and threats of violence. Brands began to step away and cancel activations.

The idea:
Since 1990, Housing Works has fought for the LGBTQIA+ community in New York City to ensure that all people living with HIV/AIDS have access to quality housing, healthcare, HIV prevention, and treatment, among other lifesaving services. 

With homophobic and transphobic sentiment growing nationally and fear-mongering about the “gay agenda,” 2023 Pride was the moment to double down and show we’re not going anywhere. Thanks to Queer-centered healthcare from providers like Housing Works, LGBTQIA+ people will be here for a long, long time.

Objectives:

Strategy and Execution

The challenge:
With limited paid media budget and a tight timeline for the activation, we had to be strategic to make the most impact with the resources available. Getting the attention of New Yorkers is no easy feat, especially when you’re talking about a topic that is often unexciting and overwhelming: healthcare. 

On top of that, unlike other audiences, there is no direct targeting capabilities for the LGBTQIA+ audience. While we agree that this targeting shouldn't exist, it did require creativity to get in front of MSM audiences in the market for PrEP. 

Our solution: 
We would need an impactful IRL and URL activation that not only got the attention of our audience but brought them into the Housing Works community.   

Results

We are proud to have connected a record-breaking number of New Yorkers to PrEP at Housing Works with this campaign. A bold and affirming message in this moment when LGBTQIA+ people are under attack is just what was needed to rally the community together. When it comes to supporting the Queer community, Housing Works has, and always will, have their back.

Goal #1: Awareness for the inclusive, judgment-free healthcare services at Housing Works 

Goal #2: Lead generation

Goal #3: Improve engagement rates

These relationships will last far beyond the month of June, and beyond the lane of PrEP. As we connect with clients with PrEP, they can explore Housing Works’ other healthcare services like primary care, HIV/STI testing, Hep C testing and treatment, and syringe exchange. 

Creating a strong foundation in the healthcare space also brings them into Housing Works’ supportive services to treat the whole person – from behavioral and mental health support to housing and legal advocacy.

Media

Entrant Company / Organization Name

HelpGood, Housing Works

Links

Entry Credits