Every October the world pretty much turns pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We were fortunate enough to work with two clients that are making a difference in the lives of women affected by breast cancer.
In October, we helped secure and publicize fundraising efforts for Rudy's "Country Store" and Bar-B-Q and Johnny Carino's restaurants. For Rudy's Bar-B-Q, it was supporting its Cup for a Cause program, which was introduced in October 2012 by the famous real Texas Bar-B-Q restaurant. It transformed its iconic plastic drink cups into the color pink. This time to raise money for three breast cancer charities namely the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Young Survival Coalition and The Rose.
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On Rudy's Bar-B-Q's Official Facebook Page, users voted for their breast cancer charity of choice throughout the month and the charity with the most votes receives 50% of the funds raised while 2nd and 3rd place finishers receive 35% and 15% respectively. This way, none of the charities will go home empty-handed. YSC won the fun, friendly competition that went down the wire between them and The Rose.
Funds were raised through dollar donations from guests at participating Rudy's locations. The total funds raised was over $141,000.
Coinciding with the Rudy's Cup for a Cause effort, Johnny Carino's, a top casual Italian dining concept, launched its Big Crush promotion. The Big Crush is an annual October tradition at the restaurant chain that allows them to highlight their selection of Italian wines and specialty dishes. For the first time, Johnny Carino's tied up its Big Crush promotion, which conveys the time of year that grapes are harvested and crushed to make wine across the globe, with the National Breast Cancer Foundation and Young Survival Coalition as well.
To gain attention for the effort, we invited morning news anchors to crush grapes with Carino's Executive Chef, Chris Peitersen, which gave Carino's an opportunity to promote Big Crush and the fundraising campaign. We focused our outreach in the top 4 markets in Texas namely Austin, Dallas, Houston and Dallas and secured a segment in each.
The Big Crush goal was $50,000 to be divided evenly by NBCF and YSC. Within two weeks, Carino's had surpassed the goal and raised a total of over $125,000 by the end of October. Their staff was passionate about the effort and their guest generously donated. Carino's offered guests who donated $2 a $5 dining credit on their next visit. The bounce back proved to be effective in driving interest and engagement.
The bottom line, both campaigns made a difference in the lives of women with breast cancer and will continue to do so with the money they raised.
