Conscious Marketing Tactics

In this keynote Amy Lockwood speaks on the imperative need of better safe sex marketing campaigns in the DR Congo. A large percentage of its population is infected with HIV, leading donor organizations to provide low-cost condoms as a method of prevention. According to Lockwood, the problem with this strategy is that people from the DRC don’t want to use the condoms because they are not marketed toward them in an effective manner. Branded condoms focus their advertising messages on “Fear, Financing, and Fidelity," which are not messages that appeal to the people using them. Lockwood concludes that it shouldn’t be surprising then to learn that generic versions of condoms that rely more on sexual imagery behind its branding tend to perform better in sales. Though Lockwood’s speech inspires her audience on how we can encourage people to consider safe sex practices, it also highlights the importance for companies to target audiences. Amy Lockwood's socially conscious speech offers an insightful look into how to recognize the failures in poor marketing and on how to refocus failed branding efforts.