Most days, employees of Brighton Collectibles wear the corporate uniform, black outfits accessorized with the signature silver jewelry they sell. At the end of the month they'll be wearing and working in a more casual environment, a garage sale at employee Marilyn Shork's Dunlap home.
It's not enough that $10 from the sales of Brighton's $48 "Power of Pink" bracelets go to fund research for a breast cancer cure during October. Brighton employees have also organized a variety of different promotions and fundraisers for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, including the garage sale at Shork's home, a silent auction and a bake sale at the store.
"We were just trying to think of more ways to raise money," Shork says.
Brighton isn't the only national or local company that has attached itself to raising awarenesss and money for a cure. The pink ribbon, the ubiquitous symbol of the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, the queen of cause-related marketing, is on products, from make-up to blue jeans to cars. During a Pittsburgh Steelers' game this month, the Steelers promoted awareness by distributing pink versions of their bright yellow Terrible Towels.
"Companies want to find a cause that's important," says Jennifer Burton an assistant professor of marketing at Bradley University. "By associating themselves with a good cause, they're generating good will."
Of course, the bottom line is generating sales.
The idea goes by a variety of names and falls under different categories - cause-branding, strategic philanthropy, social responsibility, corporate values. But cause-related marketing is increasingly a key part of companies' public relations efforts.
Burton teaches integrated marketing communications, or how to use television, print and online advertising and direct marketing to deliver a consistent message and drive sales of a product.
"Cause-related marketing is a big aspect of companies' public relations efforts," she says. "It's generating positive news about your product."
When she worked in public relations, Burton says she would send out press releases about new products to media outlets all the time. The media basically ignored them. But if she got the word out that her client was helping build houses with Habitat for Humanity, the media was more interested.
Brighton, a 140-store chain based in California, has built its brand, in part, on limited edition jewelry designs. In each case, a portion of the sales is donated to charities that feed the hungry, fund clean water projects in Africa, peace projects internationally, and raise awareness about heart disease and breast cancer.
