Where's the Pink Ribbons at Nissan, Toyota and Dodge Dealers?

There’s a big pink ribbon behind the Chevy sign on the building at my local dealer. Chevy has multiple promotions that their dealers seemingly can embrace to whatever degree they prefer. Chevy Service enables people to donate the rebate from certain oil changes and brake pad installations to the American Cancer Society. On October 6, Chevy donated $10 per test drive up to $130,000 for anyone who came into dealers and test-drove a Chevy. Plus, there's several more extensions.

So, Ford is tied up with Susan G. Komen for the Cure in a merchandise effort called Ford Warriors in Pink. Starting in 1997 and for at least a dozen years following, BMW did both promotions and celebrity-studded merchandise sales on behalf Komen.

Why are automotive companies targeting women so specifically? Because women have disproportionate influence on the car that households ultimately purchase. But few women have any love for the car buying process or hanging out at the dealership. Take the sting out of that and boom!, maybe you got a shot at a loyal customer.

Since there’s a number of high quality breast cancer charities besides Komen and the ACS, and a couple more major automakers in the American market, I gotta ask; where’s the pink ribbons this month at the Nissan, Toyota, and Dodge dealerships?

Below, I’ve excerpted a portion of Chevy press release from Labor Day 2012 announcing a donation based on the number of laps under the caution flag at the Advocare 500. I’m trying to give a sense of the way they position their pink ribbon cause marketing against Ford’s.

"DETROIT – Chevrolet Racing will renew the brand's fight against breast cancer this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway where every lap run under the caution flag will lead to a $200 contribution by Chevrolet to the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiative.

"For our 100th birthday in 2011, Chevrolet began its support of the American Cancer Society, and the generous response from our dealers, employees and customers told us we needed to help the Society fight for more birthdays," said Don Johnson, vice president of Chevrolet Sales and Service. "At Chevy, we believe everyday heroes can accomplish extraordinary things, and it is in this spirit that we work to achieve a world without breast cancer."

On Friday, 30 breast cancer survivors and their guests will spend the day at Atlanta Motor Speedway and participate in Chevrolet Camaro SS pace car rides around the historic track with Team Chevy NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jamie McMurray and four-time NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion Ron Hornaday Jr. NASCAR Nationwide Series driver Danica Patrick also will visit with survivors for photos and autographs.

On Sunday, Chevy will donate $200 for every caution lap run during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series AdvoCare 500, paced by the pink Camaro SS featuring the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer logo. In 2011, 64 caution laps at Atlanta generated $12,800 for the American Cancer Society…

…"Last year, contributions of more than $900,000 supported the American Cancer Society's mission to save lives by helping people stay well and get well, by finding cures and by fighting back against this disease," said Roshini George, national vice president of health promotions for the American Cancer Society. "As we approach National Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, we want thank the Chevrolet family for its support and remind everyone to take the steps that make a difference in our fight against breast cancer."

Batting Your Eyelashes at Prescription Drug Cause Marketing

I’m a little chary about making sweeping pronouncements, but I believe I've just seen the first cause marketing promotion in the U.S. involving a prescription drug. The drug is from Allergan and it’s called Latisse , “the first and only FDA-approved prescription treatment for inadequate or not enough eyelashes.” The medical name for this condition is hypotrichosis. Latisse is lifestyle drug the way Viagra or Propecia are. That is, no one’s going to die (except, perhaps, of embarrassment) if their erectile dysfunction or male pattern baldness or thin eyelashes go untreated. Which means the positioning for a product like Latisse is a little tricky. Allergan could have gone with the sexy route as with Viagra or Cialis and showed lovely women batting their new longer, thicker, darker eyelashes. But I’ll bet that approach didn’t test well with women. (I’m reminded of a joke about the Cialis ads from a comedian whose name I can’t recall. He said, “Hey if my erection lasts longer than ...

Cause Marketing: The All Packaging Edition

One way to activate a cause marketing campaign when the sponsor sells a physical product is on the packaging. I started my career in cause marketing on the charity side and I can tell you that back in the day we were thrilled to get a logo on pack of a consumer packaged good (CPG) or even just a mention. Since then, there’s been a welcome evolution of what sponsors are willing and able to do with their packaging in order to activate their cause sponsorships. That said, even today some sponsors don’t seem to have gotten the memo that when it comes to explaining your cause campaign, more really is more, even on something as small as a can or bottle. The savviest sponsors realize that their only guaranteed means of reaching actual customers with a cause marketing message is by putting it on packaging. And the reach and frequency of the media on packaging for certain high-volume CPG items is almost certainly greater than radio, print or outdoor advertising, and, in many cases, TV. More to ...

Chili’s and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

I was in Chili’s today and I ordered their “Triple-Dipper,” a three appetizer combo. While I waited for the food, I noticed another kind of combo. Chili’s is doing a full-featured cause-related marketing campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There was a four-sided laminated table tent outlining the campaign on the table. When the waitress brought the drinks she slapped down Chili’s trademark square paper beverage coasters and on them was a call to action for an element of the campaign called ‘Create-A-Pepper,’ a kind of paper icon campaign. The wait staff was all attired in black shirts co-branded with Chili’s and St. Jude. The Create-A-Pepper paper icon could be found in a stack behind the hostess area. The Peppers are outlines of Chili’s iconic logo meant to be colored. I paid $1 for mine, but they would have taken $5, $10, or more. The crayons, too, were co-branded with the ‘Create-A-Pepper’ and St. Jude’s logos. There’s also creatapepper.com, a microsite, but again wi...

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