Many HIV carriers in Israel suffer from stigmas. One the prominent misconception about HIV, is that it is easily transmitted. The result – many Israelis are afraid of coming in contact with carriers.

So, with the "World Aids Day" approaching, we opened "The Positive store" - a one-of-a-kind concept store, located in Tel-Aviv's most iconic shopping center. The idea - a store selling second-hand clothes and items, previously owned by HIV carriers. The idea was to help the public get over there fear of HIV carriers. Instead of buying expensive TV spots in a futile attempt to educate the public, we created this unique store which garnered heaps of PR and free media coverage, and an engaging experience that could effectively bring down barriers.

Educational studies helped us realize that standard messaging was ineffective in breaking stigmas, and that the only recourse was to confront the public with their prejudice. For this, we needed an engaging experience that would show the public that there is nothing to fear. This idea ultimately manifested itself in the "Positive Store" concept.

But in order to actively engage our audience, we needed to give them a reason to shop at the Positive Store. The strategy was simple – We would sell the ultra-cool items that were donated to us, for extremely low prices. This would force people to make an active choice – "Should I purchase a fabulous jacket for a bargain price, or should I give in to my fear of HIV carriers"?

The Positive Store attracted massive media attention, creating a real buzz. Items were screened on all major broadcast channels, newspapers and radio stations. The campaign was covered on Israel's 2 most popular TV news broadcast (Channel 1 / Channel 2), on Israel's most popular newspaper (Yedioth) and on all 4 of Israel's largest radio stations. The store also made appearances on popular morning shows, leading financial newspapers, leading news websites (Walla, Ynet, and NRG. Nana10), Time-Out Tel-Aviv and many more national and local media outlets. In total, the campaign earned 1,000,000 $ worth of free media. The campaign achieved 500,000 unique impressions via interaction with store and through social media. With modest means and almost zero media buys, we got Israel talking about a subject nobody had previously cared for.