In 2013, Grassroot (GRS) aimed to develop a cost-effective marketing approach that would use SMS technology to extend GRS’s engagement with current and former participants. Health-related mobile messaging could address gaps in knowledge and leverage GRS’s celebrity soccer player ambassadors. The GlobalHelath Lab student team explored the mobile landscape in South Africa to understand how youth used cell phones and explore available technology options; compiled an extensive list of case studies of organizations that used mobile to improve health outcomes; and spent time at Grassroot project sites to better understand the value that the organization delivered to participants. Based on its analysis of opportunities and costs, the team recommended a strategy for using cell phones and SMS to bolster Grassroot’s efforts to educate youth about health and HIV issues and improve behavior and outcomes.
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