The Rock4AIDS direct mailer was used to target four corporatesponsors as well as international and local bands. The prospective bands and sponsors each received what appeared to be a giant box of antiretrovirals. Every box contained ablister pack with a set of 28 unique plectrums, each bearing a singleletter, together spelling the sentence “Treat the cause. Not thesymptoms.” Included was a leaflet styled to appear as a medical insert,with 28 pieces of information about AIDS and Rock4AIDS, corresponding to theimages and letters on the plectrums.

Rock4AIDS, a registered NGO, believes that prevention is better than cure. Born in 2004, it’s an annual benefit concert which raises funds for the fight against HIV/AIDSthrough education using one of the most powerful mediums in the world,music.

This direct mailer was created to make potential sponsors and international bands aware of South Africa's AIDS epidemic and to sign them up to combat the epidemic together with Rock4AIDS 2009.

After sending the direct mailer to various bands, two highly popular local music acts, Josie Field and Prime Circle jumped on board and played at the Rock4AIDS event on 3 October, 2009. Besides raising R50 000 in ticket sales, we also received over R800 000 in the form of corporate sponsorships and donations.

Rock bands and sponsors are constantly bombarded with requests fromcharities. In order to break through the clutter, we not onlyeducated them as to the level of the AIDS problem in South Africa, but wealso did it in a manner which was striking, memorable, linkedseamlessly to the event and could actually be used and incorporated into thegigs of the artists themselves.