Mass Appeal: Building an Audience for Komen's Race for the Cure

Susan G. Komen for the Cure successfully sponsored its Race for the Cure in numerous cities throughout the US, but wanted to find additional ways to retain the interest and attention of runners and their supporters at race sites to hear other speakers and messages, to enjoy other program elements, and to participate in affiliation opportunities.

For the pre-eminent race in Washington D.C., TBA Global, on behalf of Komen, asked Songmasters to develop a way to keep runners and their fans in place, longer and to expand the local audience in order that Komen could reach them in other ways. Komen was especially interested in reaching the African American community, where the incidence of breast cancer is high relative to the proportion of women seeking early treatment. Our solution was simple: annual post-Race concerts provided by outstanding performers sympathetic to the Races' goals who would appeal to both the target audience and the general public. Our first Race for the Cure concert featured Patti Austin, fresh on the heels of her newest release, and was an outstanding success.

Komen was able to heighten publicity for the Race itself, tie in to local radio and TV promotions through PSAs, offer a free concert to the general public, distribute information and materials to a significantly larger audience and offer important information on local breast cancer services and support, and in many other ways engage runners, their fans and the general public to a degree previously unavailable to them. The concert met all of Komen's objectives and set the model in place for future years.

Other examples of our work:

Health Source RI - Consumer Services Platform. Rhode Island Health Care Exchange

POBA: Where the Arts Live

Listen to Me: Where the True.Great.Original Meet the Next Generation of Music's Greats

S'Well! - A National Conversation on Women's Health and Well-Being

Building a New Demographic: Emigrant Savings Bank

The Future of Innovation: Re-Branding the Council on Competitiveness