September: Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know that September is both National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month? For the lovely ladies reading this blog today, this is dedicated to you.

The Facts:
The American Cancer Society estimates that 21,880 women will develop ovarian cancer this year. Sadly, another 13,850 are expected to die of the disease this year, too.

Over 50% of women with ovarian cancer are over the age of 65. Young ladies, don’t feel too relieved because that means almost 50% of women with ovarian cancer are under 65 years old. Younger women are, however, twice as likely to survive five years following their diagnosis than are their older counterparts.

As my friend and President of Cancer Schmancer, Fran Drescher, would say, “Early detection equals survival!” So, if you get anything out of today’s blog post, I hope it’s this: Know the early warning signs of the cancers that can affect you! You’re not too young, old, skinny, fat, dark, light, rich or poor for cancer. I promise you that.

Bottom line: Cancer doesn’t discriminate. So, hit the books, or at least these important websites. It may help you save a life, whether it be your own or that of a loved one.
American Cancer Society
National Cancer Institute
Women's Cancer Network

For more information specifically about ovarian cancer, here are some additional helpful links:
Ovarian Cancer National Alliance
National Ovarian Cancer Coalition
Ovarian Cancer Research Fund

Luckily for you and I, the American public is becoming more and more interested in raising awareness for ovarian cancer. So, as you can imagine, lots of companies are following suit. As founder and CEO of Glamour Gone Good, Inc., I’m particularly excited to see the fashion and beauty worlds infusing ovarian cancer awareness into their work.

Some of my favorite campaigns and programs for National Ovarian Cancer Awareness this year include:

Super Saturday 13
Hosted by Donna Karan, QVC, and InStyle, Super Saturday 13 featured its famous one-of-a-kind designer garage sale with kids' carnival, gourmet dining and exciting activities galore on July 31, 2010 in Water Mill, NY, benefiting the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. The event raised a whopping $3.3 million to support OCRF's mission of funding research to find a method of early detection and, ultimately, a cure for ovarian cancer.

It’s not too late to support the QVC Super Saturday campaign! Check out the Designer Sale going on now to benefit OCRF on QVC.com.

Rumpled to Runway Fashion Show
TV hostess, Kelly Ripa, and Electrolux asked a group of fashion bloggers to participate in a special ovarian cancer awareness-themed fashion show hosted by Kelly Ripa during New York Fashion Week.

In addition to raising awareness for ovarian cancer during Fashion Week, Electrolux has committed to donating $750,000 to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund by donating a percentage of Perfect Steam™ washer and dryer purchases. Effective September 8th, visitors to www.Kelly-Confidential.com can also donate $1 to OCRF every time they press the Perfect Steam™ button.

Ovarian Health 101 National Teleconference
On September 20, 2010, Bright Pink, the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition and Sharsheret hosted a national teleconference about everything you need to know about ovarian health. The speakers shared cutting-edge information from leading medical experts on topics related to genetics, fertility preservation, cancer prevention, and so much more.

Teal Toes
Many nail polish brands have embraced ovarian cancer awareness by developing beautiful teal nail colors that, in many cases, contribute a percent of proceeds to ovarian cancer organizations.

Here are a few examples:
Priti NYC’s Tulip Tree Teal
Karma Organic’s Don’t Teal My Heart Away
Sephora by OPI’s Teal We Meet Again (does not donate percent of proceeds anywhere)

Know of any other fabulous ovarian cancer awareness campaigns? Feel free to leave a comment below.

Here's wishing you a very happy, healthy and safe National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month! Please keep in touch and join our mailing list by registering at www.GlamourGoneGood.org.

Skin Care Brands Gone Good: The Results

A couple weeks ago, Glamour Gone Good issued a survey called Skin Care Brands Gone Good. The survey focused on three socially responsible campaigns launched by three different skin care brands: Dove, Clean & Clear, and philosophy. Below are our findings and some additional thoughts.

Background information on survey takers:

• 100% of respondents were female
• 75% of respondents are between ages 25 to 34
• 25% of respondents are between ages 35 to 49
• 100% of respondents use skin care products on a daily basis

THE RESULTS:

Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty was the overwhelmingly popular choice amongst all survey respondents with 100% of respondents saying they would support the campaign, if they are not already doing so.

Conversely, Clean & Clear's Join the Surge program seemed to have the least impact on survey takers. While 100% of survey takers felt either somewhat or highly motivated to support Dove's and philosophy’s campaigns, none of them felt the same way about Join the Surge.

There are a few possible reasons for this. First of all, the Join the Surge campaign is targeted at teens. Given that 100% of respondents were ages 25 or above, they were clearly not the target audience for the campaign. So, it’s not a huge surprise that they did not respond as excitedly to this program as they did to Dove's and philosophy’s socially responsible campaigns.

In addition, as the survey results would indicate, our respondents were most interested in campaigns that had the strongest relationship with the charities involved in their campaigns. Along those lines, the overwhelming majority of respondents felt that philosophy’s shop for a cause campaign is most successfully supporting its charities (it clearly communicates to its consumers which charity each "shop for a cause" product benefits and it donates 100% of net proceeds to that charity.) Meanwhile, neither Dove nor Clean & Clear clearly communicates to the consumer its strategy for supporting its charity partner(s). An important question left lingering in our minds is what kind of financial contribution either brand is making to its charity partner(s), if any.

Most importantly, 100% of survey takers responded that they prefer brands that invest in multi-year, multimedia campaigns. So, it’s no surprise that Join the Surge did not excite respondents since the campaign lasted only three months while both Dove's and philosophy's campaigns have been going on for at least a few years.

Why does any of this matter?

This survey and its results were an interesting experiment that reinforced some important lessons for brands engaging in socially responsible and charitable activities. They are as follows:

1. Consumers want specifics. They want to know exactly how brands are supporting the charities around which they develop their campaigns. Slapping a logo on promotional materials with a vague ‘We Are A Proud Supporter Of’ message is no longer relevant for today’s sophisticated, savvy consumer.

2. Consumers want a long-term commitment. Heavily promoting a campaign that will only last a week or a month will not have as great an impact on a brand’s consumer base as a campaign that lasts all year or is repeated annually. People are forgetful, so it's critical to develop a campaign that is sure to leave a lasting impression. If a brand really wants to woo its consumers, it must think of its charitable campaigns as long-term relationships, not quick flings that are here today and gone tomorrow.

3. Consumers want brands to care about what they care about. All too often, brands align themselves with causes or issues of special significance to their CEOs and founders. Unfortunately, those issues or causes may not always resonate with their consumers. Meanwhile, brands that listen to their consumers and develop campaigns that truly speak to them are in a better position to increase consumer brand loyalty and boost sales of products and services tied to those campaigns. While not all brands have the resources to conduct formal market research and talk to focus groups, they can all reach out to their most loyal consumers, survey them and, most importantly, engage them in meaningful dialogue to find out exactly what moves them.

What other important lessons can we learn from our consumers when it comes to developing meaningful and successful socially responsible campaigns?