Stamping Out Cancer - US Postal Service and breast cancer

Brandweek, March 29, 1999 by Christine Bittar

In 1997, Congress gave the U.S. Postal Service a mandate to establish a special rate of postage to give the public a convenient way to fund breast cancer research. The USPS did more than just issue, putting the 40-cent Breast Cancer Research Semipostal Stamp at the heart of a pr and event marketing blitz, and on track to become one of the top-selling stamps in U.S. history. The USPS has already sold more than 70 million stamps since the end of July, raising $5.2 million so far for breast cancer research.

At the center of the effort has been an event strategy that made the stamp more than a product, but an issue, kept top-of-mind by association with attention-grabbing personalities. The USPS unveiled the stamp last April at the White House with Hillary Rodham Clinton, postmaster general William Henderson and its sponsor, Senator Diane Feinstein. In May, it took center stage at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women in Los Angeles and New York, studded with such stars as Kelsey Grammer, Cindy Crawford and breast cancer survivor Olivia Newton-John. Under the theme "Fund a Fight, Find a Cure," the USPS has since planned major events around May, for Mother's Day, and October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness month.

The schedule trickled down to a local event schedule: a tie-in with the Chicago Marathon, plus a full page ad from the Chicago Post Office in the marathon guide, events at WNBA games where spectators got to meet players, events in San Diego at Padres games and Health Fairs in San Francisco at the San Francisco Performance cluster. In addition, local post offices around the country staged their own events, inviting locals to meet local celebrities.

The USPS did its share of advertising for the stamp, with an October print schedule that included TV Guide, People and Better Homes & Gardens; a second round of advertising is planned for this May, with national print again in TV Guide and People, plus a billboard in New York's Times Square. But the breast cancer stamp, the first-ever issued just for fundraising, has struck such a broad chord and garnered such a welter of celebrity endorsement, that it has scored even more awareness in unpaid media The USPS garnered a raft of publicity in major women s magazines and front page coverage in metro dailies. Most notably, the stamp got prominent write-ups in the L.A. Times and USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Self and Fit. TV included The Today Show and a mention by Rosie O'Donnell in the opening monologue of her show the day the stamp was formally unveiled. Partner Lifetime Television produced a round of 60-second spots with Linda Ellerbee.

And looking at its 800,000 employees as one of its greatest strengths, the USPS sent point-of-purchase materials to all 40,000 post office outlets around the country, and for the first time encouraged staffers to pitch the commemorative for use as postage, not just collecting, to keep sales churning.

Agency Draft Worldwide brought in another client, American Express, to develop a "Matching Donation Fund" program, and donated an additional cents per AmEx card purchase at the Post Office Aug. 1-Oct. 31, 1998. Amex also did a stamp-themed direct mail stuffer, particularly significant since it doesn't grant access to its list.

The USPS has just printed another 200,000 stamps and will conduct sales through April 2000.

CAUSE-RELATED PROMOTION

PROGRAM

Breast Cancer Research Semipostal Stamp

MARKETER

U.S. Postal Service

AGENCY

Draft Worldwide, Chicago, Ill.

KEY PLAYERS

USPS

Azeezaly Jaffer, executive director-stamp services; James Tolbert, manager-stamp development; Giovanna Athias, marketing specialist

Draft

Lee Hill, president; Karl Peters, account supervisor