2. Executive Summary
• Communications Support for Health is a USAID project focused on
strengthening national health communication on HIV/AIDS, Maternal and
Reproductive Health, Malaria and Nutrition
• Part of that work includes a 26-part mini-series, Love Games. Love Games
is entirely Zambian produced and can be described as:
“The story of a group of interconnected family and friends
navigating the tricky waters of love and relationships in the time
of HIV.”
• CSH is using a variety of social media to reinforce and collect feedback on
the messages being communicated through the show
3. Safe Love Campaign
• CSH “flagship” HIV prevention campaign
• Focus on three key drivers of HIV transmission in Zambia
High rates of multiple
and concurrent sexual
partners (MCP)
Low condom use with
regular and casual
partners
Low utilization of
PMTCT services
4. How to affect these drivers
Step 1: Understand critical barriers (formative research)
Step 2: Based on barriers, decide what to communicate
Step 3: Determine to whom you need to communicate
• Primary Audience: Urban and rural men and women from age
15-49, both in relationships and single
• Secondary Audience: Any other opinion influencers including
headmen/traditional leaders, elders, pastors/religious
leaders, and teachers
Step 4: Determine HOW to communicate
5. Radio vs TV
• CSH conducted a rapid survey in April 2011 to measure
exposure of campaign at that stage (mostly radio and TV
adverts)
• Results:
o 84.2% urban audiences and 72.4% rural audiences have access to
radio
o 86.8% urban audiences and 60.5% rural audiences have access to
television
• Justified investment in both radio and television
6. Main channels for Safe Love campaign communication
Mass media:
• Life at the Turnoff 26-episode radio
drama, airing on all national and 20
community radio stations in English and
5 local languages. Target audience: 35-49
years, rural
• Love Games 26-episode TV drama series,
airing on 2 main national TV stations in
English. Target audience: 18-35 years,
urban
• TV adverts (17 in all)
• Radio adverts (17 in all)
• Live Today newspaper inserts 6 bi-
monthly inserts on various topics
Interpersonal:
• Safe Love Clubs: 5 civil society
organizations holding small group
sessions with men, women, and youth
on various aspects of the Safe Love
campaign using teaching aides + mass
media products for discussion.
• Events: outreach at various national
and community events including
traditional ceremonies, agricultural
fairs, international “day” celebrations,
concerts, university programs and
rallies
7. Step 5: Develop communication tools
Love Games:
• Used success and evaluation of Club Risky Business as starting
point
o Built on many of the same characters
o Went from 13 10-minute episodes to 26 25-minute episodes
o Slightly changed perspective from group of men and their women to
a group of women and their men
• Best practices in the field of entertainment education suggest
the most critical success factor is to lead with the
story/plot/characters. So, Love Games is:
“The story of a group of interconnected family and friends
navigating the tricky waters of love and relationships in the
time of HIV.”
8. Love Games:
• 18 months in development from release of RFP for creative
vendor to concept/character profiles to scripting to beginning
production
• Story line involves intricate sexual networks/MCP, condom use
and disuse, PMTCT and lively debate and discussion
• Season 1 depicts many of the choices people are regularly
faced with; Season 2 depicts the consequences of those
choices
• Approximately 6 months of production
• Quality major focus
• Media 365 was hired as producer and established standards for
production never before seen in Zambia.
9. Episode 8 (what we’ll see tonight)
In the middle of Season 1; things are just starting to heat up
for our characters:
• Carol: engaged to Charlie, struggling with the fact she cheated
on Charlie with her boss, Charlie suspects Carol is lying
• Tasheni: Carol’s cousin who just moved back from the UK, just
realized her longtime boyfriend TJ has been cheating on her,
developing close relationship with Charlie
• Mimi: wild party girl, has many sexual partners, having an affair
with David
• Tamara: suspect her husband is having an affair, being pursued
by business client Julius
• Womba: successful lawyer, just started dating younger man
Chilufya
10. Methodology
• Feedback was drawn from the Love Games Facebook page and
random walk around interviews.
• The interviews are conducted in purposely selected locations
such as stores, markets and other suitable locations.
• Interviewees selected ensuring that the target population, 15-49
year olds, are captured.
CSH is also planning on conducting a second “rapid survey” with a
national sample to measure campaign exposure and obtain
feedback on products in April and a large impact evaluation of the
entire Safe Love campaign in August.
Immediate Reactions
11. Random Walk Around
• The most viewed channel is ZNBC.
• Of approximately 50 people randomly contacted each week,
we’ve seen a steady increase from 30% to 50% having watched
the show over the 7 weeks we’ve conducted the interviews
• Commonly perceived message;
o The effects of multiple concurrent partnerships
o Stick to one sexual partners
o HIV/AIDS is real
• This information will be supplemented by the Safe Love
rapid survey later this year.
12. The common themes on Love Games Facebook are that
the show is:
• Educative
• Dramatic and entertaining
• Viewers love the show
• Character appreciation (Mimi)
15. Quotes on Value of Program
“Its really educative and helps people especially the
youths”
“Very educative and entertaining @ the same time”
“I love the program. Its educating even us, married
women”
16. More Quotes
“The best soap ever, very entertaining”
“Impressed with the script and the quality. I hope the
message is heard”
“The maid has grown wings, „laughter‟ Wow….Love
games indeed…! And the hubby behaves as if nothing
happened with the house maid, when his wife arrives…”
17. Viewers Love the Show
“Whoever came up with Love Games did well because
I‟m learning a lot. Big up to u! ”
“I love the show….”
Character Appreciation:
“…Mimi you are such a great actor, hope you are not
like that in reality”
“What Mimi does to others is exactly others do to her –
sexual networks!”
18. How has Love Games impacted your live and
shaped your understanding of HIV?
“Mimi's part as truly changed me... It made me see how wrong
depending on a sugar daddy is... & how being materialistic can ruin
your future.... I finally gathered the courage to tell off my sugar
daddyd & am now happy & free all thanx to Love Games...”
“Well, that show has really changed my life in the sense that i now
know my HIV status. I had fear of getting tested but knowing that I
have a past prompted me to take a bold step cause there was a
possibility that i could have been in a sexual network. After all, it‟s
my own precious life.”
19. “I've watched all the 12 episodes so far and I've learned that sticking to
one sexual partner and using a condom can be helpful and it has
given a true picture of how essential an HIV test can be in one's life.”
“It‟s amazing! First I would like to applause the minds behind this
programme, it really captures the reality of everyday life. It‟s surprising
how people don‟t take these issues seriously, but I think with
entertaining but yet educative programmes like LOVE GAMES, it might
just be the eye opener to how much similarities we might have with the
characters, so well done hope to see a second season.”
“I have learnt that not all friends are good influencers, and trust alone
can‟t work in relationships. Also having multiple sexual partners puts
you at very high risk to HIV. Always use a condom when having sex
and make sure you know your HIV status and for your partner as well.”
20. Dominant Patterns Emerging
• The majority of people accessing the Facebook page are youths
(18-34 years) and equal gender distribution; which means we are
reaching our target audience
• The show triggers discussions amongst the viewers to discuss
healthy relationships
• Healthy relationships are described as those that are
characterized by trust, respect, and open communication
