Each October, we’re met with a wave of pink ribbon products raising awareness and support for organizations fighting breast cancer.
Charity Navigator
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Every year, Bloomingdales partners with several Breast Cancer organizations to raise money for research and treatment with its Give Pink Get More promotion. For $15, you can register your Bloomies card and recieve a gift card at the end of the month for a percentage of your purchases. A win-win for all involved. Even the Bloomingdales logo has a pink ribbon in place of the “L” for the month.
Throughout October the store sponsors events related to Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On Saturday I attended a yoga workshop at my local Bloomingdales before the store opened. The event was extremely well attended by women of all ages. For $10 you could attend the session and take home a pink yoga mat and other goodies.
Almost exactly 10 years ago, I was diagnosed with breast cancer (12/08) and Parkinson’s (saw doctor for symptoms beginning 10/08, diagnosed a year later). As I have written previously, it was much easier for me to come to terms with a breast cancer diagnosis than a PD diagnosis.
Why? There is so much support for women with Breast Cancer that it is almost a badge of honor. Many stores are pushing their “Pink” promotions. I even got an email from Charity Navigator with the following statement: “Each October, we’re met with a wave of pink ribbon products raising awareness and support for organizations fighting breast cancer. With so many organizations vying for your attention, it can be hard to know which ones are worthy of your support.”
Charity Navigator also comments on the fact that many companies are using charities as a marketing tool because it works.
Here are some findings from a 2013 Cone Study on cause-related marketing:
- 89% of consumers would be likely to switch brands (if quality and price held constant) for one that’s affiliated with a charity, compared with 80% in 2010 and 66% in 1993.
- 54% of consumers bought a product with a social and/or environmental benefit, compared with 41% in 2010 and 20% in 1993.
For diseases like Parkinson’s and many other “rare” diseases, there is little or no product marketing to raise awareness of the disease. April is Parkinson’s Disease month. Were you aware of that? Not many people are. We have our Parkinson’s walks throughout the year, not just in April. The one in Los Angeles this year is in November, not April. Why are we doing it now? The end result is that our message gets muddied and lost among the many other worthy causes.
Perhaps it is time for all of the PD organizations to work together to create a consitent and timely marketing plan. There is the Unity Walk in NY each April, but as far as I know, that is the only one of its kind in the US that encourages all of the organizations to participate together in April. Yes, it is difficult to coordinate multiple events in the same month, especially in large urban areas that may have walks in 3-4 different locations. So maybe we take the advice from the Cone study and find reputable partners to work with the PD organizations in April to get the word out about Parkinson’s Disease. A green yoga mat with tulips would be a great start! Are you listening, Bloomingdales?
Twitchy Woman 
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