It wants to beat last year’s count of 260 pieces of coverage and 120 separate broadcast interviews.
The charity will use the Health Protection Agency’s figures on the number of people diagnosed with HIV in 2006, to provide statistics and analysis on the current situation. These figures are due to be released a week before World Aids Day. It will create a series of case studies that will be sold in to national press to provide a human angle to the statistics, as well as giving briefings on specific angles. It will also publicise the regional and national events that the charity is holding on the day.
Terrence Higgins Trust head of media Sally Sharpe said: ‘We will liaise with diary editors to try to get our celebrity supporters in, as well as pitching in things like The Independent’s 5-Minute Interview, or Metro’s 60 Second Interview, where they can mention their support for us around World Aids Day.’
The agency will also target specialist gay press including Gay Times and Gaydar Radio, and media for the African community such as Voice and Colourful Radio.
The activity comes as part of the organisation’s 25th anniversary campaign, which calls on the Department of Heath to set a target to reduce the percentage of people whose HIV infection has not been diagnosed from 32 per cent to 25 per cent by 2012.
