Launched: 2021 | Project length: 12 months

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a sexually transmitted infection with various strains, that, if left undetected and untreated, can lead to cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine can prevent the strains most likely to cause this.

HPV+ME was developed by Wendybird with funding by Women's Health Queensland and is the first targeted LGBTIQ+ HPV health promotion campaign developed in Queensland. HPV can and does impact all people regardless of their gender or sexuality in a multitude of ways - and LGBTIQ+ people are often invisible in, or excluded from, traditional cervical screen awareness campaigns. This results in less participation in prevention screening and higher rates of cervical cancer. 

Wendybird facilitated a consultation process with people from across the LGBTIQ+ communities to identify the priorities of the campaign, develop key messages, decide what information should be included, and how this campaign should be styled and designed to engage LGBTIQ+ people. Content was developed in consultation with Cervical Cancer Australia and trusted LGBTIQ health professionals.

Wendybird chose to work with Shelley and the team at Rogue Web Design and Rogue Print on all major creative touchpoints due to the teams extensive experience in executing a range of creative services. Developed for the campaign were the branding and logo, through to original digital illustration work, posters for health clinics, print collateral including hand sanitizers and carabiners - and, of course - the campaign website.

We worked with the team at Wendybird for a period over 12 months, from concept to completion. An integral component of the campaign was the four key poster illustrations. These needed to simply, boldly and through symbolism and colour, represent the broad LGBTIQ+ community with something that is engaging and eye catching - while also providing a look and feel that wasn't clinical or medical. The posters - characters, lettering, symbols, badges etc were all hand illustrated in Procreate. These worked alongside the video production and talent photography to reinforce the campaign's core messages:

• HPV is Everybody's Business
• HPV Signs and Symptoms
• Cervical Screening & Testing
• Gardasil Vaccine

The illustrations were adapted and brought into the key areas of the website, to reinforce the messages and provide a visual consistency - as the target audience will have seen the posters in a clinic or at an event, etc. The website features separate pages for Community and Practitioners, videos for both audiences embedded throughout; and a resources section for the campaign posters and videos, including special Q&A sessions with GP Dr Fiona Bisshop.