Introduction

Pink is the new black in October- or at least, that’s what we are inundated with during “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” throughout the United States.  We see television shows that carefully plug in something about breast cancer into their storylines, such as the prime-time hit Grey’s Anatomy did this year, in addition to running a PSA and having the doctors on their show wear pink ribbons. We even saw it in college football this year, specifically in the Cotton Bowl where one of the football coaches was wearing the pink ribbon on his visor and it was inevitable to miss it in every close-up.  Finally, the most common type of marketing breast cancer awareness that we see is the sale of “pink” products all over the country in the name of breast cancer research.

Many corporations boast that they are doing their part to promote breast cancer awareness by stamping the infamous pink ribbon on their products, but is selling a pink product or adding pink to their packaging really enough? Are these sponsors jumping on the bandwagon and exploiting the fact that breast cancer is a major cause of death in the United States in women, to be viewed as heroes for aiding the efforts, or are they really just being socially responsible? What is the bottom line of such marketing efforts and who really benefits most from them? During the course of the research, we learned though an article in Ad Age, that Campbell’s soup had doubled their sales of chicken noodle soup and tomato soup and had sold out in 250 locations that they were placed in. Unfortunately, most buyers don’t realize that many of these corporations have a limit to what they will donate to breast cancer research from the sale of such products. At this point, it is only fair to acknowledge the fact that many of these corporations have a minimum amount agreed upon that they guarantee to contribute within a designated time period.

According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation website, corporate sponsors allow their foundation to reach out to audiences with important breast health and breast cancer information and in raising funds to support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment. Such initiatives provide corporate supporters an opportunity to involve employees and consumers in the cause. The website does a spectacular job of stressing the importance of the mutual benefit that a social alliance with an organization should create and even establishes guidelines that corporate sponsors may follow (see appendix: 2006 Fact Sheet).

This content analysis, executed in October of 2006, will shed some light on the corporate sponsorship of a few of the largest breast cancer research and/or support organizations within the country. The purpose of this study is to present information that may otherwise be overlooked by consumers about the full extent of support that corporations give breast cancer organizations (BCO) participating in Breast Cancer Awareness Month activities. We hope to present this information in a concise manner that will allow you to determine what the corporate trend is in relation to supporting this type of organization.