Wednesday, September 19, 2012

SMACK'D DOWN AND RAW

Almost one year ago, we had a discussion on twitter about changing the face of Pinktober. The entire tweet chat is here. It's easy to read.  We are weeks away and the insanity has begun.  We had a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on those missteps that created more negative publicity toward Komen, yet, we did nothing.  Correction.  We did plenty.  Me included.  We did a whole lotta talking and not a whole lotta acting.

Yesterday, I shared how Staples employees were employing some strong-arm tactics with a $2.00 pen.  Last night, I had a My Cousin Vinny moment.  For those who aren't big on movies, I apologize but for those who have seen the movie, "This is IT, the case-cracker!"  I know what's happening with these Staples folks, they must have been given a bit of training by WWE.  You know.  The wrestlers.  The crazy guys.  What my son once referred to as a soap opera for guys.

While we have been very noisy, Komen has been very quietly doing things behind the scenes.  Very savvy.  Sell those pens.  And get a new corporate sponsor.  WWE has now partnered with Susan G Komen For The Cure.  The burly wrestler is donning a shirt that says, "Rise Above Cancer."  The only ones who are rising above cancer are those whose feet no longer touch the earth.  Like Susan Komen.

The press release from WWE is here.  If you think this isn't going to reposition Komen in a HUGE way, you are sadly mistaken.  This is a major coup.  To be fair to the WWE, they are donating 100% of the profit from all merchandise and they guarantee the profit will be a MINIMUM of 30% of the retail price of any given item.  They are doing it right.  Full transparency.  And.Every.Damn.Dime.Is.Going.To.Texas.

If you read the press release, you will see that WWE boasts five million FEMALE viewers, "more than the top rated shows on women's television networks."  They go on to say they will be sharing all of their global resources including broadcasts, live events and social media to encourage fans to get involved in Race for the Cure events in their communities.  Komen is the "world's largest non profit funder of breast cancer research and community outreach programs."  When those wrestlers speak, their fans listen.  They are being sold "the cure" and "research" and that is what they will believe.  We need a new plan.  Wouldn't you agree?  The game just changed and this is how we are presently positioned.

Score:
                                  Komen: One Gazillion                       Rebels:  Zero

Doesn't look so great, does it?  So where do we go from here?  I don't know. When we should have been opening dialogue with Komen as they were on the brink of imploding, we were busy doing what?  And yes, for the record, pun intended.  We were doing lots of talking with no clear plan of action.  With no fuzzy plan of action.  With no action AT ALL even on the radar.  Shame on us.

My friend, Lori who blogs at Regrounding penned a petition to Nancy Brinker.  For starters, I might suggest that everyone sign the petition.  And, if you have not yet signed the NBCC petition, I'm asking you do that, too.  While I'm on the sign and join bandwagon, if you don't belong to Army of Women database, enroll now.  You want to be part of a changing landscape.... those are a few of the ways "HOW" to do it.  Yep.  That is cryptic.... but not for much longer.....

Lastly, I want to share a few "tweets" from a man who was selfless and wise and witty and admired and loved and is MISSED by many.  Dave Hodgson participated in that October chat.  He was ready to put his expertise in marketing to help us find a way to reshape the ribbon.  From his perspective as a marketing genius, the ribbon is here and we should USE it. "What do you want people to know and do?"  Dave's take..... it would be pointless to ditch the ribbon until a new messaging source was established.  Dave died of metastatic melanoma on December 31st.  He had plans in motion.  He was asking all the right questions. (The last set of tweets are not in the tweet box.. no clue what happened to the formatting and I'm too challenged to try to fix it... Easy enough to figure out.)



WHAT DO WE WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW, TO DO????
DO WE HAVE AN ACTION PLAN? ARE WE ON THE SAME PAGE?? IF NOT, WHY DO IT???
EVOLVE THE MARKETING.......




DON'T DITCH THE PINK..... IT'S POINTLESS UNTIL A NEW MESSAGING SOURCE IS FOUND.
WHO GETS THE BATON.... AND WHO IS INSTRUMENTAL IS SEEING THAT BATON IS PASSED INTO THE NEXT PHASE???
WE NEEDED DAVE ..... HE WANTED TO HELP.

HE WAS GOING TO LOOK AT HOW HE MIGHT HELP. HE TRULY WAS A GREAT GUY.....
AND HE STARTED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY BY ASKING THE QUESTION.... WHO OWNS THE RIBBON??

I believe that Dave would have helped us make a difference. Big shoes to fill. Any ideas?

Just three more tweets...... Not from Dave...

This one is both sobering and upsetting at the same time. If they are shopping, we must make sure they are shopping responsibly.
Rachel weighed in with her brilliant observation. She always shared the wisest thoughts.
This is from Nancy. She has been supporting the breast cancer community since the beginning of #bcsm. She definitely wins the prize for the absolute best comment of the entire chat.....
Posted by at

8 comments:

  1. Lisa ValentineSeptember 19, 2012 at 9:53 PM

    One conversation at a time. One petition signature at a time. One "no thank you" at a time. One reality check at a time. It IS adding up. It IS making a difference. We just need more people and more actions to build momentum.

    We each need to do our part. Thank you AnneMarie for doing your part!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnneMarieSeptember 19, 2012 at 11:22 PM

      Thank you, Lisa.... for that reminder. I recall being told when I first started blogging. It's all any of us can strive for. Help just one person. Slow and steady CAN win the race.

      xoxox

      Delete
    2. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2012 at 11:05 PM

      Love this Lisa!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2012 at 11:46 PM

    Challenging the "the end justifies the means" attitude many people (and physicians) have toward SGK. Here in Peoria a prominent breast surgeon went on the news telling people to forget the "political crap" and sign up for the walk. As if no matter how bad Komen got, it doesn't matter as long as SOME money was going to research.

    But your friend Dave was right, we need to reclaim the ribbon and take back the pink. SGK has the running ribbon. Fine. But we have to challenge those who use it for gain. One company, one boutique, one etsy seller at a time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnneMarieSeptember 20, 2012 at 11:16 PM

      One lousy thing at the time is right..... and you are right there in the trenches and I'm glad to be there beside you!

      Delete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2012 at 12:56 AM

    dear anne marie,

    i wish i had more to bring to the table to this forum; as a "newbie" to the world of the effort to nix the pink and call attention, $$$'s and truth as to what SGK is doing or not doing with the ribbon, still, i adhere to the "do what you CAN do..." attitude. so i offer my pledge to open dialouges with anyone who will listen about the sorry "politics" of breast cancer SGK engages in, the pinkification of bc that deflects and inhibits what the real focus should be on (prevention/eradication of bc) which ='s money to research, not pink plastic crap (which we know some of which is made of known carcinogens!), and keep trying to inform myself on both the history of and the current tides of the struggle. as i noted in my last comment, i joined the army of women, and this evening spent time reviewing the awesome list of current studies being done at the behest of the susan love research foundation. i am blown away by the whole concept and i align with you to encourage - no, i BEG !!! - every woman reading this - please, join the AOW. susan love and her fellow researchers are the soldiering heroes of the day in finding answers about what causes bc - not for more toxic poisons for treatment, not for assuring that breast cancer can be elevated from a terminal disease to a chronic disease and big pharma can profit by developing MORE toxic poisons. and as a disclaimer here: for all of us facing living the rest of our lives with "chronic" breast cancer, i, for one, will take it if it means i can live. but i do not EVER want my daughter nor yours to have to face what we are enduring.

    anne marie, i am sick at heart for the loss of your friend dave and for the feelings you expressed at lost opportunities, especially on the heels of the wwe/sgk crap. but here's the thing: do not give one iota of your well-being to the bastards. we love you. we appreciate your vision, your perseverance, the depth and breadth of your beautiful soul, so caring and so determined to do all you can to help others. do all you can to be good to yourself - you deserve it.

    love,

    karen, the commentor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AnneMarieSeptember 20, 2012 at 11:15 PM

      Dear Karen,

      Thank you for sharing your feelings about Army of Women. It truly is the direction in which we should be heading. Dr. Love was FINALLY released from the hospital today. Having seen her speak at a number of occasions, the picture was sobering. She worked passionately before this little bump in the road and made a promise she would be back making noise soon enough. The day is coming. Big things will be happening. And yes, part of what drives me is my daughter. More on that next week..... during the "pre-game" ....

      xoxox

      Delete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2012 at 11:04 PM

    Wow. Just wow. I have SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much reading to catch up on on your blog!

    ReplyDelete

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