NEW YORK — Starting in January, 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale of a new fragrance from Five Star Fragrances Co., called Red Dress, will be donated to the American Heart Association. Red Dress will be available exclusively at Perfumania.
“This is the first fragrance created specifically for a cause,” said Ray Piergiorgi, chief operating officer of Five Star Fragrances. “We’re looking at this as the beginning of a long partnership with the American Heart Association.
The fragrance will retail for $50, and Piergiorgi expects to donate at least $250,000 to the association. Red Dress is part of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women program, which is designed to help women discover the importance of learning about heart disease and stroke.
Piergiorgi said Five Star chose the American Heart Association because heart disease is the number one killer of women in the U.S. Information about the dangers of the disease will be handed out in stores.
With the debut of Red Dress, Five Star joins the growing ranks of beauty marketers and retailers aiming to do well by supporting worthy causes.
Although Avon, Estée Lauder and Revlon have long been associated with giving to charities, the good will is spreading. Creating products for charity is no longer the province of just megafirms. In addition to Five Star, niche marketer Pookie Products donates to various funds; Jane Cosmetics — when it was owned by Estée Lauder — had periodically identified products from which profits went to charity; Target Corp. gives to local schools, as well as to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and this year CVS Corp. donated to Second Harvest, a food bank.
In today’s market, where products need an edge to stand out, cause marketing is flourishing. Just as marketers are donating products for giveaways on daytime television, many are also looking for charitable partners. Companies get positive press and consumer loyalty, while also giving money to deserving foundations.
The phenomenal success of the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s Live Strong yellow wristbands underscores just how much consumers like the idea of combining a fashion purchase with a good cause. The wristbands have become so popular that there are now colors representing every charity imaginable, from blue for autism research to green for supporting the troops. Teenagers are often seen wearing several colors at once. Sales of the yellow Live Strong wristbands have raised more than $8 million for cancer education, advocacy and research.
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But do consumers really care about the fact that a portion of their dollars is going to charities? Do kids with multicolored wristbands even know where the money is going?
Piergiorgi thinks that in the case of Red Dress, the cause makes a difference. “We expect the fragrance might appeal to someone who wouldn’t necessarily buy a fragrance or a new fragrance,” he said. “They might have an aunt or relative that has suffered from heart disease,” he said. But he quickly added that the fragrance also smells good. Red Dress is described as a textured, floral musk.
The American Heart Association also thinks the timing for Red Dress is apropos. To date, much of the beauty industry’s focus has been on cancer support, although Avon recently added domestic violence to its list of philanthropic efforts.
“It’s about now. Heart disease in women is right here, right now,” said Karen Murray, president of Claiborne Menswear Brands and chair of the American Heart Association’s Woman and Heart Disease Advisory Group. She said the Go Red for Women campaign, which incorporates Red Dress, will do much to save lives.
Companies exploring cause marketing need to be committed to that goal, cautioned retail consultant Wendy Liebmann. “It has to mean something and has to be marketed with legitimacy, as opposed to just branding. It has to have credibility, like MAC, because the consumer is smart and will figure out when you’re just doing it to be purely promotional.” In other words, just slapping a cause onto the package won’t make any product sell.
Also, retailers have found that good intentions sometimes backfire. Target, often recognized as a good corporate citizen, was lambasted this holiday season for its decision to ban Salvation Army collectors from its doors. Target has been one of the biggest supporters of causes, even opening a special store with pink merchandise to support Breast Cancer Awareness. The retailer gives more than $2 million each week to neighborhoods, programs and schools across the country, but it felt it had to take a consistent stand against allowing any group to solicit outside its stores. Some groups were so incensed that they started anti-Target Web sites.
Despite the obstacles, cause marketing is expected to become even more important in 2005 as shoppers look for avenues to feel good about their spending. Piergiorgi concluded: “Why not support a good cause and give people a good product?”