10.30.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 10:06 am by trueepicure
Check out what Breast Cancer Action has to say about breast cancer fundraising campaigns on their website Think Before You Pink.
Consider this:
In a 2005 PR Week article, 3M touted that its 2004 breast cancer awareness effort, involving a 70-foot-tall ribbon made of Post-it Notes in Times Square, reached more than 3 million people and increased sales 80% over expectations. The article reports that 3M spent $500,000 on the marketing campaign (no actual numbers on profits were released), but only gave a little over half of that amount ($300,000) to the cause.
from: Think Before You Pink, Critical Questions
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10.25.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 11:10 pm by trueepicure
I made my donation to the Komen Foundation earlier this year, so in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I decided to do something a little bid different. Last year I did the Breast Cancer 3-Day, which was an amazing experience, but once was enough. I felt like I had done a really amazing thing, but I didn’t think my body could take another one again. The Breast Cancer 3-Day got me thinking about corporate sponsorship and philanthropy in the United States. I’ve always been somewhat irritated by all of the coporate “stuff” that often accompanies philanthropy. The Breast Cancer 3-Day was rife with advertisements by Pria (Powerbar) and one of the sports drink companies.
This year, my contribution to Awareness Month is reading a book. I was reading a recent issue of The Nation, and found an ad for a book called Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy
, by Samantha King. It’s a book written about the culture of philanthropy in the U.S. and how breast cancer has become, in the author’s words: “a market-driven industry of survivorship.”
I’m about 1/2 way through the book. It’s really interesting. Ms. King has brought up some good points so far. She talks about how the current model of breast cancer philanthropy pretty much only targets the white middle class women who have or have had the disease. Programs that benefit the poor or “underserved populations” (the most used PC term I use at work these days) don’t figure prominently in the “breast cancer agenda”. Ms. King also writes about large companies who use breast cancer to market products.
I’ll be really interested to see how her arguments shape up. I’m fascinated by some of the organizations out there that reject the current philanthropy/marketing model, and are working to make the distinction between a company doing good deeds and a company using the idea of a good deed to sell their product. I’ll be sure to report back on my findings.
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10.07.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 12:07 pm by trueepicure
I’m selling a number of gently used paperback books through Amazon for under $10 a piece. I say gently used because I’ve read them, but they are in excellent condition, and some of them don’t even look like they’ve been read.
I’m more than happy to do a direct sale to you via Paypal. It will save both of us a little bit of $$. Post a comment and I’ll email you.
Interested? Check out the titles here. Or, see the link on the sidebar. New titles coming soon.
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10.02.06
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:20 pm by trueepicure
Six people were killed today by a lone gunman in an Amish schoolhouse. There are apparently no more safe places on Earth anymore. Schools haven’t been safe for years, and now one of the most peaceful groups of people on the planet is having to deal with such horrendous acts of violence.
A moment of silence for the slain…
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