We needed to remove one of the biggest barriers to beginning HIV treatment—fear of stigma. So we created “Let’s Grow Old Together” to show people that an HIV diagnosis doesn’t have to be a death sentence.

The Let’s Grow Old Together site gives those who have been isolated by fear a safe place to cope with their diagnosis. By exploring our interactive, virtual timeline, they can see how others have handled every milestone of the HIV journey. From diagnosis to navigating relationships to planning for the future, each milestone arms them with the knowledge of what to expect and the inspiration and advice to persevere. And if they have any questions along the way, they can chat with a Walgreens pharmacist online in real-time. Because with the right care and support, we can all grow old together.

The entire Let’s Grow Old Together site was built around the concept of a timeline. In order to show an HIV diagnosis is not a death sentence, it was important to provide care and support for every milestone of the HIV journey. For those reasons, the timeline navigation is key to both the concept and design of the site. It is a tool and a guide, carrying the user through the entire HIV journey from diagnosis to planning for the future.

The navigation is broken into ten distinct milestones which house media galleries and video content showcasing seven Walgreens pharmacy patients leading full, happy lives in spite of their diagnosis. In total, the site is made up of around 300 files including 40 videos and 7 audio clips.

While paid media drove to our website experience, we also encouraged visitors to share the content on their own social channels.

Our primary audience was newly diagnosed HIV patients, making the total universe much smaller and more specific than a typical Walgreens campaign. While this highly targeted campaign has only been live for a few months, we’re already seeing very positive results:

• We have achieved nearly 40 million impressions.

• We exceeded the Walgreens click-thru rate benchmark by more than double, resulting in 49,425 landings to the website in just 8 weeks.

• Site visitors spent an average of 4 minutes 52 seconds viewing content within each milestone.

• We have reached over 20 million impressions in social media alone, with engagement rates exceeding Walgreens benchmarks. On Facebook, video posts were shared over 900 times.