Casual day in the workplace can be a weekly or monthly luxury, but for the Lee Apparel Company and its agency Barkley & Evergreen Public Relations (BEPR), the ritual was used as the cause marketing hook for Lee's breast cancer research effort. Now in its second year, "Lee National Denim Day" successfully infiltrated corporate America, motivating more than 850,000 employees, constituting more than 9,000 employers, to take a serious stand on breast cancer while wearing their most comfortable jeans on October 10, 1997. So far, the campaign has exceeded its $2 million goal, raising more than $3.2 million ( a 50% leap from last year).
Campaign Ojectives
|
The dynamics of the initiative were kept strategically simple and easy to implement, according to Kathy Collins, Lee's director of consumer needs. Lee targeted corporations (primarily Fortune 1000 companies) and asked them to allow their employees to wear denim to work on the designated Friday in exchange for a $5 contribution from each participant to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to breast cancer research. Employers could also match or exceed the employee contributions. "It was very important to allow employees to get involved on an individual level with a nominal contribution," said Collins.
Taking A Stand
Lee's breast cancer program was conceptualized at a dinner last spring (1996) involving eight female staffers from finance, marketing and product development who all developed the disease that affects 1.8 million women in the U.S. each year and takes a life every 12 minutes. The group decided to earmark $2 million of Lee's advertising budget for a breast cancer research initiative that would take place in October (breast cancer awareness month).
By the time BEPR got the project, the PR team had three months to develop a theme, find a breast cancer beneficiary (the Komen foundation was ultimately selected for its passion and enthusiasm for the project), and spread the word. The budget, which was fully utilized, was primarily spent on a massive corporate direct mail effort and print advertising in women's lifestyle and business magazines.
The campaign had four objectives: increasing Lee's brand awareness, associating the brand with a woman's issue, enhancing Lee's image with a celebrity spokesperson and building brand loyalty.
In year one (1996), the campaign relied heavily on direct mail efforts to Fortune 1000 companies nationwide and a last minute media relations push to meet its fundraising goal of $1 million. Print advertising in women's and business magazines was also used to promote the effort. Given the time crunch, the media results were impressive. Key highlights included a New York Times story and a plug by Willard Scott on "The Today Show."
The Second Time Around
By year two, the campaign had the benefit of more planning time and picked up considerable momentum. To show how the effort attracted the most conservative corporate support, Lee National Denim Day culminated with a cross promotional event involving Chicago-based Arthur Anderson financial consulting firm at The House of Blues club. This time around, the campaign targeted younger females (early 20s) and used 26-year-old Josie Bissett then of "Melrose Place" as its youthful spokesperson. Compared to last year, the campaign became a media darling with plugs on "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," "Live! With Regis & Kathie Lee," "Access Hollywood" and "The Today Show" as well as national ink in the Los Angeles Times and Newsweek.
While most of the reporters were sufficiently convinced that the campaign was motivated by cause rather than commercialism, there were a few that were skeptical. "We had to explain that this was not just a Lee program but an effort that leveraged the power of casual day and got hundreds of companies involved [in raising money for breast cancer research]," said Swenson.
Selling Jeans
Few would argue the merits of donating to breast cancer research, but how does such a worthy cause sell jeans?
Lee marketers had to justify this question, especially since its breast cancer program was paid for with advertising dollars (as opposed to a philanthropic or cause-related budget). In response, Collins conceded that having Lee's marketing director behind the effort from its inception was a huge feather in the program's cap but the marketing value goes beyond selling jeans. "Ultimately, we might not be doing anything (sales-related) but it makes us feel really good and it shows that we care about much more than just jeans." (Lee Apparel Company, Kathy Collins, 913/789-0493; BEPR, Mike Swenson, 816/512-9144)
|
Do The Right Thing
When your company or client is ready to get behind a compelling cause, the "K.I.S." (Keep It Simple) principle should be a core strategy, according to Kathy Collins of The Lee Apparel Company and Mike Swenson of Barkley & Evergreen Public Relations. They offer these cause-related marketing tips: |