Sports and Music. Kareem Abdul Jabar and Curtis Mayfield. What do they have in common?
In Any Given Month…
Cause Marketing Awareness months offer marketers and PR practitioner’s a huge business opportunity to boost sales. They have become a powerful marketing tool. Here’s how it works. Cause marketers capitalize on a designated month for their organization, brand marketers align their client’s brands with the cause’s corresponding target audiences and marketing campaigns, and, together, the aligned organizations promote the cause..
In today’s marketplace, each month has been claimed by a cause(s) and, in some cases, several weeks in each month. January has Martin Luther King’s Birthday, pushing civil rights; February is Black History Month, Presidents Day and Valentine’s Day, March has Women’s History Month and St. Patrick’s Day, April is Autism Awareness Month and Earth Day, May’s Arthritis Month, June has LGBT Pride Month, July is UV Safety Month, August is Medic Alert Awareness Month; September is Suicide Awareness Month; October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month; November has Diabetes, Parkinson’s and TBI, and December is the month of holidays.
In any given month, thousands of corporations across the country focus their marketing initiatives around Cause-Related months. Companies will promote the cause, and diversity efforts, increase their ad spend among “segmented” media, host specific Month-themed special events, and donate millions of dollars to well-deserving nonprofit and community organizations.
Adidas and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have teamed up to release a special collection of shoes to celebrate Black History Month. Limited editions of NBA stars Derrick Rose, Damian Lillard and John Wall’s shoes – coated with inspirational quotes – pay homage to Jabbar’s career. The three superstar guards each began playing in the shoes on Martin Luther King Day. They will also be worn in select games in the month of February. Add a cause to the mix and you’re golden. Some of the proceeds from the shoes will go to Jabbar’s Skyhook Foundation.
Entertainment entities use “awareness months” to boost ticket sales as with the world premiere of Reginald Torian, Sr.’s “All Things Mayfield Revue.” Premiering January31st, the company is billing the show as a kick-off to Black History Month — a fitting tie since the lyrics of Curtis Mayfield still strongly resonatetoday as in decades past.February is just the jumpstart to marketing the show, which plans to travel to New York, Atlanta and Detroit later this year. And, in June for Black Music Month, the musical revue will be broadcast on a public radio station.
So, remember, when focusing your brand’s or company’s marketing around an awareness month to think longer term – yes, it’s about generating a greater market share among a consumer base that is extremely brand loyal, but overall — It’s about business and what makes sense year-round in the overall marketing plan.
Have a wonderful Wednesday. – AS
