Marketing Breast Cancer
Marketing Breast Cancer
Breast Cancer Awareness month is winding down. Corporations are a big part of raising awareness, sponsoring events and selling pink products. WFUV's Blake Christy has more on the history and culture of corporate sponsorship in the fight against breast c
One thing you see just as much as jack-o-lanterns and ghosts in the month of October are pink ribbons, but where did the pink ribbon come from?
Dr. Gayle Sulik, medical sociologist and author of Pink Ribbon Blues said that, “In 1992, the pink ribbon came onto the scene, and that was essentially a creation of Esteé Lauder and Self Magazine, and then the symbol became more of a logo.”
Before the pink ribbon had taken over as the symbol for the fight against breast cancer, the peach ribbon represented the cause. Charlotte Haley created the peach-colored grass roots breast cancer awareness campaign. When Charlotte was approached by Estée Lauder and Self Magazine to collaborate on the campaign Charlotte declined because she was afraid of being a part of what she felt was a commercial breast cancer effort.
Dr. Sulik says a growing number of corporations have been aligning themselves with the effort, calling it, “the mother of all cause marketing.”
“Cause marketing is actually housed, not in any philanthropic department, but is housed in marketing," she said. "So it is literally a type of marketing; it is just another type of marketing that companies use.”
Yoplait, Ford and Eggland’s Best are examples of companies who have joined the commercial effort. Avon has become a large corporate face in the fight against Breast Cancer. The beauty company founded the Avon Foundation for Women to lead efforts to eradicate the disease. The foundations executive director, Dr. Marc Hurlbert, says they have raised millions of dollars to combat breast cancer.
“We have now raised and donated to universities and hospitals $815 million for breast cancer programs around the globe," he said. "So it is cause-marketing, but it really goes beyond putting a pink ribbon on a blender type of program.”
An organization that was among the first to urge corporations to do more to fight breast cancer is Susan G. Komen. Michelle Marquez, director of development at Susan G. Komen Greater New York City, says they are very discerning in how they work with corporate partners. But, she says, whether motivated by philanthropy or public image, corporations are vital in the fight against breast cancer.
