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Chico?s deems mobile as critical for breast cancer social campaign

Women?s clothing chain Chico?s FAS is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month with a social campaign that rests heavily on mobile capabilities.

Featuring a Facebook-integrated microsite, Chico?s Pink My Pic campaign will allow participants to upload photos and apply a pink filter to them. Chico?s FAS, Inc. will donate one dollar to support group Living Beyond Breast Cancer for participants who make the photo their Facebook profile picture.

?With a majority of traffic on Facebook and other social sites coming from mobile, it was critical that the experience be mobile-optimized,? Jessica Wells, vice president of social marketing of Chico's FAS Inc., Fort Myers. ?When a fan sees a brand's Facebook post or tweet, they want to instantly access the content.  

?It's no different with charitable campaigns; the experience needs to be as seamless on a mobile device as it is on desktop. Sharing to Facebook is fundamental to this campaign, thus sharing and viewing must be accessible from a mobile device.?

Opening doors
The campaign, powered by rich engagement provider HelloWorld, will run through the month of October.


Participants must link the microsite to their Facebook account for the operation to work.  Once competed, users can upload a photo and tint it with pink. A pink ribbon and hashtag logo will be included, reading #Together.

Along with donating for every profile picture, Chico?s will also donate for every share on Facebook, Twitter and via email up to $25,000.

To date, Chico's FAS Inc.'s family of brands, including White House Black Market, Chico's, Soma Intimates and Boston Proper, has donated over $2.1 million to LBBC. While the retail chain has supported the nonprofit organization in past years, this social campaign is new and aimed to create additional buzz this year.


Promoting a movement
A cause such as breast cancer awareness has established a powerful foundation over recent years. Due to the driven awareness, brands are taking advantage by involving themselves in various fundraising efforts to spread their own awareness.

In 2013, handbag and accessory brand Vera Bradley tapped mobile to help empower volunteers at an annual fundraising event for the company?s breast cancer foundation.

The Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer developed a custom mobile event application to improve communications and eliminate paper waste for the organization?s 20th Annual Vera Bradley Golf and Tennis Tournament fundraiser. The app saw a 50 percent adoption rate among event organizers and volunteers, with the app being used 3,000 times over the course of the three-day event (see story).

Also in 2013, cinnamon roll bakery chain Cinnabon leveraged mobile to help drive donations for the National Breast Cancer Foundation via a new in-store initiative.

The campaign, Sweet Support, was a nationwide fundraiser, with Cinnabon matching the first $10,000 in donations. Customers were being directed to the mobile URL Give.Mobi/Cinnabon to make a donation by employees and via signage inside the bakeries (see story).

By leveraging social, Chico's is providing a fun way for its fans to get involved.

?Our goal is to drive awareness for the cause and our partner organization Living Beyond Breast Cancer,? Ms. Wells said. ?As mobile continues to play a much bigger role in our customers' lives, we've evolved to ensure our customers can access our content and charitable giving campaigns wherever they are, and whenever they choose.?

Final Take
Caitlyn Bohannon is an editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York