Evaluation of Soul City Series 5: Focusing on the Distribution and Use of the Booklets

This report publishes findings of an evaluation of the print component of the fifth series of Soul City, South Africa. The evaluation aimed to assess the distribution and usage of the Soul City booklets and explore qualitatively the impact of the series on HIV/AIDS and rape. The print component provides further information about the messages incorporated in the TV and radio series, and are serialised in some of the major newspapers. The fifth series dealt with the following issues: HIV and AIDS: from the perspective of caring and supporting people; living with HIV or AIDS; disability; rape; and small business development.

The objectives of the evaluation were defined as follows:

• To map out the distribution of the Soul City booklets
• To understand how the booklets are read and used
• To understand the impact, if any, that the booklets have had since the series
• To gain insight into people's reception of the competitions and marketing
• To qualitatively assess and document the extent to which Soul City 5 impacted on attitudes and social norms towards rape and living positively with HIV.

Three booklets on these themes were printed and just over half a million copies of each were distributed through the Sunday Times, a weekly with national circulation. These three booklets were: "Living Positively", "Disability Rights are Human Rights" and "Starting Your Own Business". In addition, these booklets were distributed as inserts in three newspapers with a more regional focus, in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape provinces. A further half a million booklets were made available (on request) to clinics, schools and organisations.

The report explains the methodology of the survey, including the strategies in metropolitan areas and non-metro areas. It describes the participants, and focus groups used.

The market research found that in terms of access to the booklets, 42% of the adult population (over 16 years) saw at least one of the three booklets distributed during series 5. In real population figures, this translates to 11.7 million adults. On average, each booklet was seen by three people. Those most likely to have accessed any of the booklets were:

• Black and Indian people (over 45% exposure in each group)
• Teenagers and young adults
• Students and unemployed people
• People living in large towns and metropolitan areas
• Gauteng residents
• LSM groups 4-7

(LSMs are the Living Standards Measures used by the South African Advertising Research Foundation and is a measure of socio-economic status based on a number of criteria: income, ownership of various items, education level etc.)

Those least likely to have accessed any of the booklets were:

• White people (20% accessed them)
• People over 60 years
• Retired people and housewives
• People living in villages and rural areas
• Residents of the Free State, Eastern and Western Cape
• LSM groups at both extremes (1 and 10)

There was no significant difference in exposure between men and women.

People living in large towns and metropolitan areas were the most likely to have seen any of the booklets, while those living in rural areas and villages were least likely. Given that rural conditions would offer a relatively unfavourable environment for the distribution and reception of print media it is remarkable that over a third of the rural population did access the booklets. Results show that distribution through clinics was the crucial strategy in reaching rural people.

In terms of socio-economic profile, those most likely to have accessed the booklets were found to be within the LSM2 4-7 range. This implies the greatest reach amongst an urban population which is reasonably well educated (up to matric, and sometimes slightly higher), with access to electronic and print media, and a monthly household income between R1 500 and R5 500. Together, these groupings represent about 45% of the adult population.

In terms of the geographical reach of the booklets, people living in large towns and metropolitan areas were the most likely to have seen any of the booklets, while those living in rural areas and villages were least likely. Given that rural conditions would offer a relatively unfavourable environment for the distribution and reception of print media it is remarkable that over a third of the rural population did access the booklets. Results show that distribution through clinics was the crucial strategy in reaching rural people In terms of socio-economic profile, those most likely to have accessed the booklets were found to be within the LSM2 4-7 range. This implies the greatest reach amongst an urban population which is reasonably well educated (up to matric, and sometimes slightly higher), with access to electronic and print media, and a monthly household income between R1 500 and R5 500. Together, these groupings represent about 45% of the adult population.

One and a half million black people had seen the booklets at a friend's house. The fact that books are visible in people's homes indicates a positive outcome in relation to one of the key aims of the Soul City strategy - to bring issues into a more public arena and catalyse interpersonal communication about the health and social issues it addresses.

The distribution of the booklets was remarkable successful, with reach far beyond the actual numbers of booklets produced. A particularly valuable distribution mechanisms seem to be through clinics. An exciting result is that 48% of unemployed people in the study had accessed a Soul City 5 booklet. 88% of the black population said they had not heard about the Soul City Series 5 competition, despite the fact that there were competitions linked to both the TV and radio series, and that advertising for these competitions occurred within the same prime-time slot as the drama, as well as in the press. Of the 9% of black adults who did remember the competition, 18% said they had entered it. More than half of these people were under 24 years old. A quarter of the adult black population had seen or heard some kind of advertising for Series 5. This was accessed mainly via the electronic media.

The evaluation further reports on participants’ attitudes to HIV and AIDs, disability, small business development, and rape, quoting participants.