RTI International is on the brink of providing women with topical microbicide products that, when used consistently, prevent acquisition of HIV. The most important challenge, however, is transforming these revolutionary products that women should use into something that women value, desire and demand to use. To succeed, RTI is conducting a research continuum, which links a detailed understanding of barriers to and drivers for correct and consistent use of microbicides in different population segments, to implementation of changes in product design, packaging, and branding, objective evaluation of the impact of these changes on product acceptance and use, and final development of a marketing campaign based on the acquired knowledge of users’ preferences, motivations, barriers, influencers and lifestyles. These goals will be accomplished by an integrated team of experts from IDEO, RTI International, Abt Associates, CAPRISA and CONRAD.