TEDGlobal 2011
Amy Lockwood: Selling condoms in the Congo
Filmed:
Readability: 3.7
923,043 views
HIV is a serious problem in the DR Congo, and aid agencies have flooded the country with free and cheap condoms. But few people are using them. Why? "Reformed marketer" Amy Lockwood offers a surprising answer that upends a traditional model of philanthropy. (Some NSFW images.)
Amy Lockwood - Global development worker
Amy Lockwood is the deputy director of Stanford's Center for Innovation in Global Health, where she looks at new solutions to big problems. Full bio
Amy Lockwood is the deputy director of Stanford's Center for Innovation in Global Health, where she looks at new solutions to big problems. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
I am a reformed marketer,
0
0
2000
00:17
and I now work in international development.
1
2000
3000
00:20
In October, I spent some time in the Democratic Republic of Congo,
2
5000
3000
00:23
which is the [second] largest country in Africa.
3
8000
2000
00:25
In fact, it's as large as Western Europe,
4
10000
3000
00:28
but it only has 300 miles of paved roads.
5
13000
3000
00:32
The DRC is a dangerous place.
6
17000
2000
00:34
In the past 10 years, five million people have died
7
19000
3000
00:37
due to a war in the east.
8
22000
2000
00:39
But war isn't the only reason
9
24000
2000
00:41
that life is difficult in the DRC.
10
26000
2000
00:43
There are many health issues as well.
11
28000
2000
00:45
In fact, the HIV prevalence rate
12
30000
2000
00:47
is 1.3 percent among adults.
13
32000
3000
00:50
This might not sound like a large number,
14
35000
2000
00:52
but in a country with 76 million people,
15
37000
3000
00:55
it means there are 930,000 that are infected.
16
40000
4000
00:59
And due to the poor infrastructure,
17
44000
2000
01:01
only 25 percent of those
18
46000
2000
01:03
are receiving the life-saving drugs that they need.
19
48000
3000
01:06
Which is why, in part,
20
51000
2000
01:08
donor agencies provide condoms
21
53000
2000
01:10
at low or no cost.
22
55000
2000
01:12
And so while I was in the DRC,
23
57000
2000
01:14
I spent a lot of time talking to people about condoms,
24
59000
2000
01:16
including Damien.
25
61000
2000
01:18
Damien runs a hotel outside of Kinshasa.
26
63000
3000
01:21
It's a hotel that's only open until midnight,
27
66000
2000
01:23
so it's not a place that you stay.
28
68000
2000
01:25
But it is a place where sex workers and their clients come.
29
70000
4000
01:29
Now Damien knows all about condoms,
30
74000
2000
01:31
but he doesn't sell them.
31
76000
2000
01:33
He said there's just not in demand.
32
78000
2000
01:35
It's not surprising,
33
80000
2000
01:37
because only three percent of people in the DRC
34
82000
2000
01:39
use condoms.
35
84000
2000
01:41
Joseph and Christine,
36
86000
2000
01:43
who run a pharmacy where they sell a number of these condoms,
37
88000
2000
01:45
said despite the fact that donor agencies provide them at low or no cost,
38
90000
4000
01:49
and they have marketing campaigns that go along with them,
39
94000
3000
01:52
their customers don't buy the branded versions.
40
97000
3000
01:55
They like the generics.
41
100000
2000
01:57
And as a marketer, I found that curious.
42
102000
3000
02:00
And so I started to look at what the marketing looked like.
43
105000
3000
02:03
And it turns out that there are three main messages
44
108000
3000
02:06
used by the donor agencies for these condoms:
45
111000
4000
02:10
fear, financing and fidelity.
46
115000
4000
02:14
They name the condoms things like Vive, "to live"
47
119000
4000
02:18
or Trust.
48
123000
2000
02:20
They package it with the red ribbon
49
125000
2000
02:22
that reminds us of HIV,
50
127000
2000
02:24
put it in boxes that remind you who paid for them,
51
129000
4000
02:28
show pictures of your wife or husband
52
133000
2000
02:30
and tell you to protect them
53
135000
2000
02:32
or to act prudently.
54
137000
3000
02:35
Now these are not the kinds of things that someone is thinking about
55
140000
3000
02:38
just before they go get a condom.
56
143000
2000
02:40
(Laughter)
57
145000
4000
02:44
What is it that you think about
58
149000
2000
02:46
just before you get a condom?
59
151000
2000
02:48
Sex!
60
153000
3000
02:51
And the private companies that sell condoms in these places,
61
156000
3000
02:54
they understand this.
62
159000
2000
02:56
Their marketing is slightly different.
63
161000
3000
02:59
The name might not be much different,
64
164000
2000
03:01
but the imagery sure is.
65
166000
2000
03:03
Some brands are aspirational,
66
168000
3000
03:06
and certainly the packaging is incredibly provocative.
67
171000
4000
03:10
And this made me think
68
175000
2000
03:12
that perhaps the donor agencies had just missed out
69
177000
3000
03:15
on a key aspect of marketing:
70
180000
2000
03:17
understanding who's the audience.
71
182000
3000
03:20
And for donor agencies, unfortunately,
72
185000
3000
03:23
the audience tends to be
73
188000
2000
03:25
people that aren't even in the country they're working [in].
74
190000
2000
03:27
It's people back home,
75
192000
2000
03:29
people that support their work,
76
194000
2000
03:31
people like these.
77
196000
3000
03:34
But if what we're really trying to do
78
199000
2000
03:36
is stop the spread of HIV,
79
201000
3000
03:39
we need to think about the customer,
80
204000
2000
03:41
the people whose behavior needs to change --
81
206000
3000
03:44
the couples,
82
209000
2000
03:46
the young women, the young men --
83
211000
2000
03:48
whose lives depend on it.
84
213000
3000
03:51
And so the lesson is this:
85
216000
2000
03:53
it doesn't really matter what you're selling;
86
218000
3000
03:56
you just have to think about who is your customer,
87
221000
3000
03:59
and what are the messages
88
224000
2000
04:01
that are going to get them to change their behavior.
89
226000
2000
04:03
It might just save their lives.
90
228000
2000
04:05
Thank you.
91
230000
2000
04:07
(Applause)
92
232000
3000
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Amy Lockwood - Global development workerAmy Lockwood is the deputy director of Stanford's Center for Innovation in Global Health, where she looks at new solutions to big problems.
Why you should listen
Amy Lockwood is the deputy director of the Center for Innovation in Global Health at Stanford's School of Medicine, where she works in management, strategy and international development focused on issues of global health.
Before coming to Stanford, Lockwood was the Executive Director of Project Healthy Children, which works with governments and local industries in Haiti, Honduras, Liberia, Malawi, Nepal and Rwanda to develop and implement comprehensive food fortification strategies to combat micronutrient malnutrition. She has also worked with the Clinton Foundation as the Director of the Global Pediatric HIV/AIDS Program and Deputy Country Director for India, where she was responsible for supporting governments to develop strategies and implementation plans; design guidelines; build systems, procure drugs and diagnostics; and deliver care to HIV-positive children and adults.
Amy Lockwood | Speaker | TED.com