9 Marketing Lessons & A Caution …
From The Fight Against Breast Cancer
October 2009
By Rohit Bhargava (www.aboutrohit.com)

1. Choose an ownable color.

2. Offer exclusive products.
Wilson Golf Clubs KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer

3. Focus on influencers of your target.
The NFL (mostly male)
goes pink to support
breast cancer (mostly
women)!

4. Support with BIG stunts …
White House Goes Pink (2008) Sydney Harbour Bridge Goes Pink

5. Make it easy for people to act.
Safeway (US Grocery Chain) lets customers
choose to donate at the point of purchase.

Amount of
Research You
Sponsor With
A Donation:
$25 = 30 min
$50 = 60 min
$100 = 120 min
$600 = Half Day
6. Let people
choose where their
money will be
spent.

7. Find committed partners.
Cost of painting 1 Delta Zune purchase price = $250
Airplane > $20,000 Amount donated = 100%*
* Ford and Microsoft teamed up on this
promotion in 2007

8. Be everywhere at once.
Hundreds of products ranging from breakfast cereal to
digital cameras were turned pink and offered for sale to
support the cause.

9. Create unexpected experiences.

Caution: Beware of “Pinkwashing.”
As with any cause marketing campaign, there are going to
be skeptical voices. For the pink ribbon, these voices come
from Breast Cancer Action, an organization on the lookout
for participating companies who make products some
argue may cause cancer.
In 2008, they successfully campaigned Yoplait to remove
rBGH from their products due to fears it may lead to cancer.

Why did I share this?
The level of involvement from companies in the fight
against breast cancer is simply amazing. As a marketer,
this is a story I simply couldn’t avoid sharing.
Yet this global visibility can add an element of “me too”
participation from brands that dilutes the campaign
overall and risks alienating audiences.
This presentation highlights key marketing lessons, but
also shares a very real caution to marketers that there is
no substitute for authenticity.
First published on the Influential Marketing Blog:
http://www.influentialmarketingblog.com