Psi Aids Q1 Summary

Q.1. Do you think it is wise for PSI India to shift gears from its previous communication strategy and develop a mass media campaign in its fight against AIDS?

Yes, it is very wise move for PSI India to shift gears from its previous communication strategy and develop a mass media campaign.

The issues were to make the target population associate themselves with the issue of HIV/AIDS. Majority of the target had sort of shut off from this threat, with various notions and beliefs in their minds. Exhibit 9, Table 1 shows the different Segment that has high or medium risk of AIDS. It also shows the ease of accessibility. It also indicates the preferred channels of reaching out to them. For the past ten years, PSI had used the technique of personal selling. The Inter Personal Communicators have been used to sell their knowledge and awareness about AIDS to a small section of Sex workers. They have basically used door to door selling of knowledge and information about safe sex and other preventive measures to the sex workers.

There are also some major disadvantages with the strategy. Even if the sex workers become an informed customer their customers who were a major fraction of were not prepared to dilute their pleasure of having sex and enjoying a service. The competition is so intense, that a customer can easily shift to the next sex worker. Thus, it becomes very difficult for sex workers to deny their service at the pretext of safe protected sex. sex is a taboo in India, talking about sex is even a bigger challenge and hence selling the information about sex is even a bigger marketing challenge if done through direct selling channels. PSI India is trying to use the mass media advertising and direct selling penetrate more and more into the target segments and sell and service more of its identified target segment.