• by Tanya Gazdik , October 7, 2018

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and a number of brands are contributing with both donations and marketing activities. 

Breast cancer is one of the leading health crises for women in the United States, with one in eight women diagnosed in her lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2018 alone, about 266,120 women will be diagnosed in America.

Chevrolet and General Motors employees support the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walking events, presented by Avon, for the eighth consecutive year.

This year Chevy pledges to donate $5 for every social media post showing support for those affected by breast cancer using the hashtag #IDriveFor during the month of October (up to $400,000.) All contributions resulting from Chevrolet’s #IDriveFor campaign and other Making Strides Against Breast Cancer initiatives help the American Cancer Society fund efforts to end breast cancer including research, education for health care professionals, and promotion for early detection.

Chevrolet’s continued support for breast cancer awareness is one of the major initiatives that underpins the brand’s new community-focused marketing platform, Chevy Cares.

Hungry Howie’s began dedicating all its charitable efforts to breast cancer awareness in 2010. Last year, Hungry Howie’s Love, Hope & Pizza promotion crossed the $2 million mark in donations.

This year, for every pizza purchased in October, Hungry Howie’s will make a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The company's 15-second spot touting its efforts shows a customer decked out in an outfit made of the brand’s signature pink pizza box, with the NBCF logo. Customers are invited to create their own pink warrior costume out of the boxes and post it to Instagram with the hashtag #lovehopepizza.

Panera Bread is bringing back its ribbon-shaped Cherry Vanilla Bagel. A portion of its sales go to help the fight against breast cancer, with some bakery-cafes hosting days when 100% of sales of the Pink Ribbon Bagel go to cancer charities. Since the creation of the Pink Ribbon Bagel in 2001, Panera Bread has donated over $2.6 million to breast cancer charities across the nation.

The fast-casual bakery and sandwich shop tells the story of how the bagel came about in an email to customers: Breast cancer survivor Sue Stees, a Panera Bread franchise owner, had the idea when planning a luncheon for a local breast cancer organization.

A tequila company is entering its second year of supporting breast cancer research efforts. Tequila Partida has partnered with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. In 2017, Tequila Partida partner Edrington raised $190,000 and this year, the organizations are calling upon their fans to not only reach, but help them exceed the goal and support the nationwide campaign.

Partida is launching a special digital campaign, #PartidaGiving, on its branded Facebook and Instagram accounts, asking its followers to join the fight by donating to Susan G. Komen via a dedicated Tequila Partida page on Komen’s website. For every consumer donation (up to $33,333), Edrington will match it 2:1 in support of Komen.

JoS. A. Bank Clothiers donated $50,000 to the National Breast Cancer Foundation and is collecting additional donations in its stores from customers. The company sent out an email to customers on Oct. 1 announcing the drive and highlighting a member of its team who had battled breast cancer. 

The North Face announced a limited edition collection supporting Boarding for Breast Cancer and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners through an annual donation to help emphasize prevention, early detection and an active lifestyle. Since 2006, the company has supported these nonprofit organizations with over $1.3 million in funding, in addition to gear and apparel donations.