Some people would immediately associate words like "marketing" and "brand" with greed and a cynical consumerist society. Naturally, though, that’s a gross generalisation. The power behind hard marketing and brand building can also be used to engage people and make a difference to their lives. In this blogg post, I clarify how brands and marketing campaigns can also play their part in making the world a slightly better place. Perhaps you’re reading this as November and this year’s Movember action is just behind us.

How facial hair can make a difference

It all began back in 2003 when four friends in Australia were having a discussion over a beer about some of the fashion trends that had never made a true comeback. When the subject of mustache came up, Adam Garone and friends had no idea that it was going to be the start of something truly meaningful. Suddenly the word "Mo" – slang for mustache – became "Movember" and the name stuck. What started as a wager, long before the hipster movement made facial hair socially acceptable, began to raise attention and create a reaction wherever the friends – who had slowly grown to become a group of 30 men – went. At the end of the wager, the best and worst beards in the group were awarded a prize, and so much fun was had that they wanted to find a legitimate reason to do it again. Up to that point, very little attention had been directed specifically at the subject of men’s health, so one of the guys pointed out that it was about time somebody did just that. With that, the seed was sown for the current worldwide movement against prostate cancer. "Changing the face of men’s health" became the slogan. It would take several years and many unsuccessful attempts before managing to get the cancer associations from different countries to front it as a campaign but in the meantime the idea and movement grew independently on social networks. Millions of dollars were collected, engaging people across the whole world. Last year alone the movement collected US $126 million for prostate cancer research.

From movement to brand

What started as a wager and then turned into a movement has now become so large and encompassing we can call it a brand. Movements that have sound purposes create engagement and give people a sense of being able to contribute to something positive. In truth, most of us feel quite powerless and insignificant in the wider scheme of things, but being able to take part in something that makes a difference gives one a sense of solidarity and purpose. A fellowship carrying a strong and personal message is immensely powerful.

Many marketers would love to create a movement from their brand, but is it possible to create a brand out of a movement? Creating a movement from a brand presents an enormous challenge, simply because the foundations of each are fundamentally different. A movement needs to reach something in each and every one of us and do so on a much deeper level than a soft drink or a smartphone can manage. It needs to mean something to us on a personal level. However, creating a brand from a movement is possible. Doing such a thing would be a tough challenge, and as sensitive as the cause itself, and the process would have to be treated with the respect it deserved. A good example of a movement that also behaves like a brand is the pink ribbon campaign (the forerunner to Movember). It has now become so large and well-known around the world that simply by using the colour pink on products and services during October links it in people’s minds to breast cancer action. I love to see everybody wanting to get involved in it; from pink covered straw bales in fields to pink reflectors. You can buy pink coffee, jewellery, pens – everything imaginable – even a pink car wash. On a busy day and in a simple way (since all of these products are easily available), anyone can feel like they’re making a contribution. In so doing, the movement has been turned into a brand. Another example of is Product Red which donates part of their profits to AIDS action. Their objective is simple: to make it easy for people and companies to contribute to the fight against the virus.

There are many movements for good causes; the Ice Bucket Challenge and red and yellow ribbons, to name but a few. I would love to have been able to grow a beard in November, but since that wasn’t possible I can choose to donate some money and raise awareness of the issue instead.