July 2007

Clothing With a Cause

By Kenneth Hein

Neckties with a blue puzzle piece symbolizing the mysteries of autism, a silk scarf promoting the fight against breast cancer and a yellow rubber bracelet that had everyone “living strong” are just a few examples of high-profile, cause-related wearables items. Organizations such as Autism Speaks, Susan G. Komen For the Cure and the Lance Armstrong Foundation depend heavily on logoed merchandise to not only raise money but to also raise awareness.

For Autism Speaks, for example, the conversation value of the puzzle piece is almost as important as the dollars raised for research on why one in 150 children is now born with autism and how to help them. Allison Singer, director of strategic marketing for Autism Speaks New York, says that when “people don’t know what the logo symbolizes, it starts a conversation. The person wearing the pin, hat or shirt gets an opportunity to talk about autism.”
David Desrocher, president of Little Pilgrims, which creates educational products for children with autism says, “I wear my Autism Speaks pin everywhere. I want people to ask me about it. People need to understand that there’s an autism epidemic in this country that’s devastating families like mine, and if we don’t take action immediately, things will only continue to get worse.”

From a dollar perspective, cause marketing has become big business. American companies were expected to spend an estimated $1.3 billion on cause-related marketing last year, up 20% from 2005, per the IEG, a market research firm in Chicago. And this number doesn’t even include the millions that kind-hearted people give from their own pockets.

When it comes to working with organizations that are fighting for dollars to help their cause, here are seven things promotional products distributors need to know.

1. Creativity counts. One of the most common types of cause-related wearables is a race T-shirt. Many major organizations have large-scale events, such as walk-a-thons, where volunteers sign up to walk to raise money. As a token, volunteers get a T-shirt that bears the nonprofit’s logo, as well as those of the sponsoring corporations that either footed the bill for the garment or made a generous donation.

Sarah Johnston, owner of Middleton, MA-based Unlimited Promotions, often works with the American Cancer Society and advises distributors to “try to come up with a creative design. Research what age group the event’s targeting. If you’re targeting an older audience, use a design that’s more conservative and easy to read. If they’re younger, try something trendier that you might find in stores.” She also recommends personalizing the shirts by placing team names on the backs.

David Hessekial, president of the Cause Marketing Forum, agrees. “You need to make something they’d like to wear after the event,” he says. “If the shirt looks like it’s just a canvas for 100 different logos, it’s less likely that it’ll be worn after the event.

2. Treat them like a regular client. “If you’re a distributor, you need to consider the organization’s goal, what they’re trying to accomplish, who they’re targeting and what the purpose of the giveaway is at the event,” says Kayla Tollen, president of Key West, FL-based Kayla Advertising. “The next thing you need to know is how many they need and what their budget is.”
One stumbling block is the cost of recreating the organization’s logo on a shirt or hat. “Many have great logos that work fabulously on print or in posters. A lot of the times it tends to be more expensive on a piece of clothing,” Tollen says. “You need to go over the basics with them.” She does note, however, that she often gives the community and charitable organizations she works with a break because of the good they’re doing.

3. Get ahead of the trends. The “Live Strong” bracelet created by the Lance Armstrong Foundation in support of cancer survivors became a phenomenon unto itself. Hessekial says, “It hit the trifecta of being an item that people hadn’t done before, in the color yellow, which is identified with Armstrong’s victories in the Tour de France. They sold them at a low price point and made them accessible to everyone.”

Of course, it helped to have Nike on board. Still Hessekial sees this as a turning point in culture at large, where, he says, “It’s now cool, for lack of a better word, to be seen as someone who promotes good causes. Wearables can be a badge of honor saying, ‘This is what kind of person I am.’”

4. Don’t be afraid of high-end items. Autism Speaks, for one, is trying to branch out beyond typical merchandise offerings. This year for Father’s Day, the organization “created a beautiful silk tie that incorporated the puzzle piece logo,” Singer says. For Mother’s Day, high-end jewelry maker Judith Ripka designed a gold bracelet with diamond chips for the group.

5. Mind the logo. The ALS Association, which fights Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, recently unveiled its new logo – a red letter “A” with a hand over it like you might place over your heart. CEO Gary Leo says the organization has a strict policy for its usage, be it color, size or font. The organization also created a series of sub-logos for events and overseas use, where Gehrig is lesser known. “Each of the affiliates has to be aware of the terms of usage,” Leo says.

6. Don’t hesitate to innovate. Los Angeles-based Eye Level Marketing’s Solomon Emeth knew he had a good idea when he came up with interchangeable panels on employee uniforms. Using sublimation and Velcro, brands such as Motorola and Charter One can catch a consumer’s eye as soon as he sees the uniform. Emeth says it’s an even better “way for companies to advertise their community and charity work. It can communicate that, ‘We support our troops,’ or ‘We give $2 million to charity yearly.’ It’s a way to reconnect with the consumer.”

7. Giving feels good. There are people in India suffering from leprosy, and Rising Star Outreach is trying to help them. It tapped Duluth, GA-based Peak Performance for clothing donations as well as a promotional strategy to help raise funds. “It’s our moral obligation to step forward and provide whatever products and services are appropriate,” says Richard Francis, Peak Performance president.■