Movember has come a long way since thirty Melbourne men decided to bring the moustache back into fashion in 2003. Over the last ten years, the charity has raised more than £276 million for men’s health causes globally
According to statistics from the organisation, in 2012, over one and a quarter million men and women contributed to fundraising during Movember through the official channels set up in 21 countries.
In the UK alone, one in nine men will be affected by male cancer and on average prostate cancer is diagnosed every fifteen minutes. Prostate cancer is the second largest cause of death among men in the UK behind lung cancer (source: Cancer Research UK). It’s easy to see how many people male cancers affect and why the campaign has grown so exponentially and become the biggest men’s health charity organisation in the world.
Despite the ease in which participants can show their support, Movember’s success can be attributed in a large part to its dynamic marketing, perhaps uniquely for a non-profit organisation:
- Men have a cause they can call their own - moustaches become like ‘breast cancer awareness’ pink ribbons during the month
- It’s fun - Movember taps into something everyone can enjoy and positions itself away from the expected charity marketing mechanism of tugging on the heart strings.
- The nature of participation makes it easy to share with your friends on and offline.’Mo’ bros’ (as the mustachioed men are colloquially named) advertise the cause for free, all month! Regular social media activities, especially photos, gain impressions that surpass the ability of more traditional marketing channels with users being much more open to the simple message they carry.
- Movember’s approach focusses on the connection between participants by using a high visibility website, themed Facebook apps and location based Twitter accounts.
- In addition, the company’s Movember partners bring major marketing budgets and further legitimises the organisation and give it wider reach than a normal non-profit organisation
This year, the most notable partnership addition is Proctor and Gamble’s shaving brand Gillette, an obvious yet effective move that brings relevance and brand power. Gillette have gone so far as to open a pop up, retro style barbers in London’s Carnaby Street offering professional grooming for men taking part as well as a “gentleman’s club” with a bar, games and entertainment.
Other big brands include HP Sauce, which has changed its packaging and included a mustachioed man on the front and the Guardian, which has created an augmented reality app that allows members of its Guardian Media Network to ’try on’ moustaches before they grow them.
Show your support for November this month by donating to the cause and happy growing fellow Mo’ bros!