Impact of a Social Media Campaign Targeting Men Who Have Sex with Men During an Outbreak of Syphilis in Winnipeg, Canada

Background: The city of Winnipeg has experienced a surge of infectious syphilis cases since the fall of 2012, concentrated among men who have sex with men (MSM) and who use social media technologies-including phone applications-to meet sexual contacts.

Objective: To evaluate the acceptability, cost and effectiveness of a campaign promoting syphilis testing on popular websites and applications used by MSM in the Winnipeg Health Region (WHR).

Methods: The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority developed a campaign in March 2014 highlighting the syphilis outbreak and the importance of seeking testing. Over one month, advertisements appeared on four web-platforms: Grindr, Facebook, Squirt and the Gay Ad Network. When clicked, ads would direct the user to an information website. Acceptability was assessed using the number of 'clicks' elicited by advertisements on each platform. The cost of each platform's run of advertisements was compared to the number clicks elicited to produce a cost-per-click ratio for each platform. Effectiveness was assessed by comparing the number of syphilis tests ordered for male residents of the Winnipeg Health Region in the seven-week period before and after the campaign, as well as to the same time periods in 2012 and 2013.

Results: Out of 800,000 appearances purchased, the advertisements elicited 2,166 clicks, suggesting good acceptability. Grindr and Squirt advertisements had a better cost-per-click ratio than Facebook or the Gay Ad Network. There was no significant difference in testing before (2,049 tests) versus after (2,025 tests) the campaign and these findings were similar to testing trends in 2012 and 2013.

Conclusion: Although this web-based campaign showed good acceptability and low cost, it did not appear to increase syphilis testing. This may be due to a poor campaign design; it also suggests that an education campaign alone may be insufficient to change behaviour.