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Nor-Cal Think Pink is a non-profit 501(c)(3), volunteer-driven community organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of early detection in the fight against breast cancer. Think Pink was started by a small group of healthcare professionals in Redding, California in 1997 and in 2011 celebrated its 15-year anniversary.

I believe it was in 2007 when Melody Christenson, one of the founding members of Nor-Cal Think Pink communicated with us about an idea to light the Sundial Bridge in pink as part of the annual Think Pink Day. Immediately we thought this was an incredible marketing opportunity, both to further promote Think Pink’s within the community, but also draw more attention to these efforts from beyond the immediate vicinity of Redding. We were dumbfounded when this idea was rejected by the “powers that be.”

Fast-forward to 2009, and with some changes in leadership, the idea came up again in discussions with Melody and with her and Nor-Cal Think Pink’s approval, Abra embarked on a series of efforts to present the Pink Sundial Bridge event to decision-makers at the City of Redding along with Nor-Cal Think Pink’s then President Nichole Wilder and Dr. Michael Figueroa, another one of Nor-Cal Think Pink’s founding members. Although resistant at first, the event was ultimately approved by the City and Redding celebrated the first Pink Sundial Bridge on Think Pink Day, October 2009.

To support promotion of the event, Abra donated a complete redesign of the website. We also set up social media, including Nor-Cal Think Pink’s Facebook page and Twitter accounts. We were able to grow followers of these accounts to over 1000 by the event.

We also created a photo module that allowed people who attended the event to upload photos of the Pink Sundial Bridge. This feature was a great success – with 250 photos loaded – that created a way to connect with people who attended the event beyond the event itself.

Through this module we created an ongoing interaction with members of the community, both by having the ability for them to participate in the website and by having contests where people could vote on their favorite photos.

Winning photos were featured in a North State Parent magazine.

Abra also has donated graphic design services to Nor-Cal Think Pink as well.

We are very excited that in 2011, the City of Redding approved the Pink Sundial Bridge event for the next 5 years. With people showing up dressed as Stormtroopers sporting pink ribbons and bicycles lit in pink, it was clear at the 2nd Pink lighting event in 2010 that the community was embracing the Pink Sundial as an event of its own.

Looking forward to seeing how the Pink Sundial evolves in the future.

Here’s the answer:
Back when I started the company in 1999, I wanted something short, easy-to-remember, and that would be high in the alphabet so we’d always be at the top in directory listings.

I met my wife around that same time and Abra came to me on one of the weekly 3-hour drives up over the mountains to see her (she was in Redding and I was in Santa Rosa when we met).

While I don’t like tying it to ‘abracadabra’, I do like the subtle reference to magic because I’ve always been fascinated by what an incredible difference really effective marketing can make. Before Abra I was Marketing Director at a small record label. Take a game-changer like American Idol and you have a marketing vehicle that launched entire careers for people who might never have gotten anywhere otherwise.

It’s worked out well because Abra actually does a lot of naming and the name meets all the criteria we follow:
• Short
• Unique, Easy to Remember
• Non-Generic
• Your Name Should Be Your Nickname
• Captures an Essence of Your Company

If you’re interested in more about company naming and choosing business a name, read my article The Essentials of Naming.

The campaign was designed to break through with unique images of flowers actually taken using the mammography equipment at MD Imaging.

The message and imagery encourage the audience to look at mammography and their own health choices differently.

The campaign started with online ads that linked to a special page showcasing the Mammography Flowers on MD Imaging’s website.

Abra Marketing also created a YouTube video version of the presentation and has been promoting the page and YouTube video through social media.

We are currently developing a tv commercial to begin airing in October 2011.