If you run a nonprofit organization or cause-as-brand, the celebration of breast cancer pink in October and on Mother's Day is a worthy model to emulate from an audience engagement perspective. Everybody – man, woman, child, and pet – embraces pink and their breast message of choice.
Today, walking through a cheering station for the 3 Day Walk in Philadelphia, one person was "saving second base"; another guy proclaimed via his t-shirt that "real men wear pink"; one group waved signs in honor of "mounds of joy"; and this woman went all out with hand prints strategically positioned on her t-shirt.
It's impossible to be around this kind of energy and not feel great about surviving breast cancer, or supporting someone who has, or wanting to give as much money as you can to fund research, and to feel like an important part of the Pink Tribe even for having simply donned pink.
If you need a model for the level of enthusiasm and passion and conviction for your supporters, constituents, and funders, think pink. It's amazing and contagious.
However, If I were a corporate decision maker, I'd turn my pink dollars into a contribution, not a corporate sponsorship investment. Just like every person participating in today's walk had his or her own message, every business in America, it seems has a pink product or service to offer. It's overkill, meaningless, and none of these companies stands out. They just sell pink stuff.
Worse, does anyone really even know what organization receives the money? How these dollars are spent?
Like I said on Mother's Day, I'm thrilled that so much money and enthusiasm is being invested in breast cancer awareness, research, and presumably care. However, there's a point of over-saturation where people tune out. Folks, I think we've reached it.
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