International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

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Strategies

Promoting the Event

Promoting your Candlelight Memorial – advertising your event so that people attend – can be one of the most challenging parts of the mobilization process as well as one of the most fun. Promote your event in ways that attract the most people as possible. You can hang posters, encouraging others to come, or advertise in the media (See “Working with Media”). Begin hanging posters in the weeks and months leading up to the event to prepare people early.

Promoting the Event

Sample methods for promoting your memorial:

Fliers or newsletters;
E-mail or website;
Presentations or speeches;
Posters, banners and signs;
Personal or professional letters;
Media, such as newspapers or radio;
Word of mouth and announcements.

It is important to be strategic about how you promote your event, choosing the right locations and methods for announcing your memorial. Here are some additional thoughts to keep in mind:

Choose areas and populations where there is the most need or interest, such as hospitals, organizations, schools, churches, bus stations, store windows, bulletin boards, AIDS-related groups, and other public places.
Remember to advertise the date, time, location, contact information, special guests and purpose of the memorial.
Send special letters to heads of significant organizations and groups involved with HIV/AIDS, health or other philanthropic causes.
Send special letters directly to leaders and policy-makers inviting them to attend your memorial. If leaders cannot attend, invite their deputies.
Be creative. Use artwork; create a website; make the memorial a school project or ask a religious institution to include a word about the memorial in their bulletin.
Partner with other organizations and groups to get the word out; combine resources and share lists of contacts.
Use the Candlelight logo and literature to advertise your event.
Attend meetings of other clubs or organizations and make a brief announcement for the event.

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