Awareness

Charles River Apparel took part in several efforts in October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Last week I was meeting with a friend and talking cause marketing. He explained he had recently seen a cause marketing promotion between the Arthritis Foundation and Massage Envy and thought it was a great partnership. Massage Envy customers, arthritis sufferers and their supporters would benefit from the therapeutic touch of massage and the Arthritis Foundation would reap a donation. Perfect.

I couldn't have disagreed more, for two reasons.

People often operate what I call "Garanimal" cause marketing. They like things to match, including their cause marketing. But just because something matches doesn't mean it's a good fit.

According to an article in USA Today, "Pink ribbon marketing brings mixed emotions, polls find." The campaigns have raised awareness but a significant share of respondents thinks the engine that is breast cancer awareness is overshadowing other good causes. And a documentary film, "Pink Ribbons Inc.," takes issue with the chipper, upbeat attitude of pink ribbon campaigns, and the consumerization of the movement, which it says trivializes the plight of women dying of disease and masks the lack of progress toward a cure.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, one of the best chances for your clients to promote for a good cause. There's still time to order products that show support, like this Medical Awareness Pin from Amcraft.

WorkflowOne, Dayton, Ohio, announced that for the third year, the company will help raise awareness for Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, by providing branded armbands to be worn by more than 10,000 college football coaches on September 24, 2011 for Coach To Cure MD.

It's been years since the LIVESTRONG bracelet boom seemingly created a whole new product genre overnight, sprinkling the world with little yellow silicone cancer-fighting bands and kicking awareness marketing into the mainstream.

The employee owners of distributor Newton Manufacturing Company, Newton, Iowa, generously opened their wallets for the Jasper County Relay for Life to benefit the American Cancer Society.

A first-hand listing of the many promotional items given out before, during and after the Philadelphia's 2011 Broad Street Run.

BIC Graphic USA, Clearwater, Fla., announced it is broadening its line of awareness products by launching two new BIC WideBody Design Grip pens just in time for October’s breast cancer awareness events. Both WideBody variations feature a custom-molded ribbon grip design and are available in pink, red and yellow.

A 1-inch thick rubber bracelet has caused quite a stir in schools across the country, despite the positive message its wearers believe it sends.

The bracelets say "I [heart] Boobies" and are part of a nationwide campaign launched several months ago to make young people more aware of breast cancer. A number of school districts, however, do not [heart] the bracelets at all.