Most people know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They know, because it’s usually the month where they are awash with pink ribbons and cause-related content.
Some brands take up the mantle in different ways:
Some focus on consumer education; usually in the form of blogs, videos, articles etc.
Others create events to support the cause; think ICWI Pink Run, or Jamaica Cancer Society’s Keeping Abreast Luncheon. They host bake sales, dinners or walks to bring awareness to the disease and its survivors. More often than not, the proceeds of these events go towards those fighting Breast Cancer or towards equipment like mammography machines.
Others wave a "pink flag", so to speak, they change logos and put up social media posts signaling their alliance to the cause.
This past October, Match Sync flew under the radar; only replacing our regular email signature with a pink one, that championed the movement. This decision came with a lot of reflection. We thought long and hard about the posts that we should do (if any). We also considered, how demonstrating our alliance with Breast Cancer Awareness could actually provide any value or meaningful change to our audience. Ultimately, because we did not have a concrete strategy in place, we chose not to post anything.
Maybe we were overthinking it. It’s possible. My sister is a survivor and self-proclaimed “Breast Cancer Warrior.” She champions hard for the cause; sharing information and being a hopeful example. She was recently part of a great campaign with Jaanuu, where they shared stories given by breast cancer survivors. This was meaningful content. It let survivors know that they weren’t alone. It also brought awareness to the disease as survivors shared their stories of diagnosis and treatment.
Research has shown that Gen-Z consumers and Millennials care deeply about corporate activism and corporate social responsibility. Maybe it’s because these groups have been long plugged into digital media and in order for them to engage with brands socially, these brands need to mean something to them.
The best social cause campaigns are just that--campaigns --and they are rooted in strategy and purpose. These brands find seamless connections between their established brand purpose and the causes they choose to support. According to Ian Shafer of Kindred, it can be difficult for brands to find the "sweet spot" between great communication and living their purposes.
So if you’re considering adding some "Cause Marketing" to your content strategy, here are some questions you could ask yourself:
Why this cause? Does it mean something to the brand or its tribe? The Body Shop, who has a commitment to “enrich, not exploit,” cares deeply about Animal Testing and keeping the world free of plastics. Walmart cares about fighting hunger, and partnered with Feeding America in order to effect change in that cause.
How will you create meaning? Will you share stories to promote awareness and resonance with the cause or will you use other content vehicles like events to build awareness or change behavior? The brand, Boxed Water, used Twitter as a content vehicle when it partnered with the National Forest Foundation; committing to plant two trees for every #ReTree tweet.
When you publicly stand up for a cause, will you also provide support for those who are suffering from the cause? Recently, I went to a bakery and they were selling a pink cake for Breast Cancer Awareness. It was a very pretty cake. Yet, I wondered, was it just a "pretty pink cake" or did a portion of the sales of said cake go towards Breast Cancer research or helping those who are afflicted, be able to afford treatment? These questions are not questions I always ask, but recent conversations with my sister have now deepened my awareness. It turned out, in this cake situation, it was just a pink cake.
What organisations could you partner with? If, for example, you want to increase awareness for Heart Disease, you could partner with local organisations committed to that purpose. A good example of that, in Jamaica, would be the Heart Foundation of Jamaica. Likewise, if you want to bring more awareness and understanding to Breast Cancer, you could partner with the Jamaica Cancer Society.
As brands, we are often under pressure to find, create and share content. We leverage trends and news for topical content, often in an effort to seem relatable, approachable, "cool", or any combination of the three. But I think that sometimes we can greedily reach for content that improves our brand affinity, without thinking about the value and utility of the consumer we are talking to. Instead, we need to provide connection and meaning to the lives of those who consume the information we share.
When we do this, using the platforms available to us, I think we have met our obligation and responsibility to the people that follow us. For Match Sync, that responsibility means sharing meaningful and accurate information that respects and honors those who are struggling with the causes that we choose to champion.
We are a young company but as we grow, our goal is to find ways to effect change by doing what we do best- marketing strategy and execution. We hope to be able to help organisations like the Jamaica Cancer Society and Heart Foundation to build engagement with their targets and grow awareness of the diseases that claim the lives of so many Jamaicans. The hope is, that by next year, we as a company would have asked and answered for ourselves the key questions for developing a concrete strategy for execution.
Like most things in life, this is a work in progress. But it’s definitely something worth thinking about. Let us know if you agree.
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