Day 7: Pink Sharpies

Ah, the inspiration for this blog, the pink Sharpie.  As an event planner, I really don't go anywhere without a Sharpie.  Normally I have an assortment of colors (including pink back in my ACS days...now teal for my BEAM event color).  I really love Sharpies, I mean really.  If I was trapped on a desert island and could pick three things to bring, one of them would probably be a Sharpie because at the very least, you could play Tic-Tac-Toe on your leg while waiting to be rescued.
So of course the two pack of pink Sharpie markers on full display in mid-September caught my eye.

It turns out, $.10 from every purchase goes towards "City of Hope", (which on my cursory investigation is an NCI designated Comprehensive Cancer Center (not easy to do) and seems to be a very reputable organization located in California.).  They will donate UP TO $100,000.  Wow, that sounds really really great. 

Here's the rub.  The pink Sharpie pack cost something like $4.24.  The identical two pack of the black Sharpies cost $1.49 (to be fair, I lost the receipt since this purchase in September, but same basic concept.).  Ok, so follow me here, because math is not my strong suit...In order to get to their full donation of $100,000, $.10 at a time, a total of ONE MILLION packs of pink Sharpies will need to be sold. 

So, by that math, if the retail price difference between pink and black is $2.75, that is an additional $2,750,000 in Sharpie revenue.  Seriously, someone check my math.

I spoke with "Dennis" at the Sharpie info number and he had no idea about the donation amount in the past, but was quick to let me know that you can ALSO fight breast cancer by submitting a signature on the Sharpie website.  I checked the website and people are uploading signatures to which Sharpie is awarding $1 for signature, up to $10,000.  Two weeks ago, there were 69 signatures.  Now, almost halfway through the month, there are 141.  That is a long way to go to max out that donation.

Here is something I hadn't even counted on while researching this entry.  If you Google "Sharpie", you are taken to their "Global Landing Page" where you can pick your country.  I only looked at a few (UK, Canada, Australia) and NONE of them are featuring a breast cancer promotion.

Huh, does this type of "cause marketing" not sell in other countries?  Go figure.  And, to be honest, I did buy the Sharpies...I mean, come on, I'm a wedding planner, why wouldn't I want pink Sharpies...plus it fights breast cancer!