Between 2004 and 2013 there was an 80% increase in HIV-infections. For this reason Vangardist decided to dedicate their edition to the topic. So together we set out to create an emotional response by printing a special edition with a combination of HIV+blood and ink.

Early April 2015 we took blood of 3 HIV-positive donors and mixed it with ink to print the Hero-edition of Vangardist Magazine. Our main message #HIVheroes became one of the most trending topics in the world. Within that time-frame from April till Eurovision Song Contest we started raising money for projects supported by Life Ball, the biggest yearly event to fight HIV.

Given the relatively small audience of the local magazine, we had to rely strongly on PR and the distribution of our idea via KOLs and journalists across the globe. This was crucial to hook up with the followers and readers of them. Activities were backed up via an interactive platform, featuring video content and interviews around the project, leading to a call to stand up against stigma on Social Media.

• One of the most trending topics on the net

• Received broad coverage on platforms like buzzfeed, mashable, iflscience.com

• Over 5,2m shares in the first ten days of the campaign

• More than 20mins of live overage on news channels such as CBS-News, BBC, AlJazeera, etc

• Reaching out to an estimated audience of 32 million

• Over 300 publications covered the topic in 28 countries across the globe.

• All coverage added up to an earned media value of USD 1,98m

• On the day of entry, the edition was on its way to selling out, raising potentially EUR 150K of donations.