I’ve become accustomed to seeing the Pink Ribbon on soda cans and packages of cookies in the supermarket, but was a little stunned when I stopped by ULTA last week to pick up a jar of my favorite face cream, and discovered it packaged in a special breast-cancer-pink advocacy box! In fact, the whole store was having a Pink Ribbon promo. Wow! This is the type of consumer-grabbing campaign I’d like to see for diabetes with the Blue Circle someday…
On the flip side, I gave two talks at the Utah chapter of the American Association of Diabetes Educators last Wednesday, and out of 140+ CDEs in attendance, how many do you think were at all familiar with the Blue Circle icon? About 8 people! Eight! I kid you not.
Seriously, think about that: the key healthcare providers treating diabetes patients around the country generally have NO IDEA there even is a potentially unifying symbol for this illness. Because no one has informed them. Certainly not the big national diabetes organizations in this country…
I chatted with the Utah educators about the fact that AADE uses orange and grey as its branding colors, while JDRF uses its own acronym printed in blue. ADA uses that big red ‘A’ reminiscent of the Scarlet Letter, and more recently, that creepy hand with the blood drop — not exactly an image you want to ask friends and family to pin on their clothing. The fact is that NONE of their logos is universally recognized by people outside the D-community. Heck, most people within our community are confused about what color is supposed to represent us.
This is the impetus behind our current campaign lobbying ADA, AADE and JDRF to “Adopt the Blue Circle” as the universally recognized symbol that says it all.
To be clear, this not a call for those organizations to spend countless dollars remaking or “rebranding” themselves; all we’re asking is that they officially recognize the Blue Circle as “our lapel pin,” and do their part to ensure that consumers across America begin to recognize it.
There are certainly some easy and cost-effective ways to make this happen.
How about these ideas, for example?
5 Ways the Top Diabetes Orgs Could Get Behind the Blue Circle
1) Display it prominently on their home pages, with an explanation of its meaning (this won’t take away at all from their own PR or fundraising efforts)
2) Add Blue Circle items to their gift stores, like T-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers (i.e. make it easy for people to get their hands on Blue Circle merchandise!)
3) Use it as the overarching symbol whenever there are multi-organization alliances, like for example the new DAA Alliance that AADE is spearheading now
4) Make it the overarching symbol for National Diabetes Awareness Month and associated outreach (i.e. November should be about lobbying for this illness as a cause, not just an opportunity for individual orgs to promote their own work)
5) Display the Blue Circle prominently at their annual meetings and professional events, to ensure that everyone in the healthcare and Pharma industries also have it top of mind
* * *
To those who might argue that campaigning for a symbol isn’t meaningful, because it “doesn’t really do anything to help people with diabetes”: We implore you to think a little deeper.
Sure, on the surface it seems that an icon can’t provide life-saving medicines to PWDs in need, or much-needed donation dollars to cure researchers. Or can it…?
We’re also aware that there’s been some criticism that Pink Ribbon efforts have become too commercial, but consider:
- Since its inception in 1998, the Pink Ribbon events and donations have raised more than $1.2 million and provided over 4,400 “Comfort Bags” to women undergoing cancer treatment.
- Due to aggressive promotion, between 1991 and 1996, federal funding for breast cancer research increased nearly fourfold to over $550 million!
There can be no arguing that the Pink Ribbon has brought that illness’ cause to the forefront of public health concerns. These are the kinds of effects we’d like to see the Blue Circle accomplish for diabetes!
Please join us in calling for a single, unified symbol. Sign the petition here.
Great idea for fundraising and raising awareness. I really want to love it! However, I disagree very much with the accompanying slogan. Type I and Type II are NOT one disease. They are two diseases with a common treatment goal. Too complicated for the symbol I know, but doesn’t the slogan “One disease. One world…” mislead the public? I mean there is plenty of confusion in the first place. Sometimes I even have to explain to medical professionals that though I don’t take much insulin, I am in fact not going to be able to quit taking it. That truly is the extent of ignorance about the difference between Type I and Type II.
And this is precisely why we need at least the amount of awareness as pink = breast cancer awareness. Imagine how much easier (and healthier) all our lives would be if the world was aware of more than just the myths.
At our Orange County JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes yesterday, in the kids craft area we made holiday ornament…Blue bead circles with “World Diabetes Day” November 14″ glued in the center!
I just wanted to note:
While we do believe the big ad JDRF placed in NY Times / Wash Post this past weekend ( http://jess-meandd.blogspot.com/2011/11/advocacy-in-print.html ) certainly catches people’s attention momentarily, it doesn’t give diabetes a universal platform for “cause marketing” the way the ribbon does for breast cancer. We feel this is much needed!
Great article! Having the blue circle would be very much like the pink ribbon. As soon as you see it you know what it means. I know that if any one can get everyone to recognize the blue circle the diabetes community can.
Hmm…not only do I see the blue circle in Microsoft Windows, I see it in Firefox, too. Are you sure you have rights to do this?
Seems like more and more the circle takes away form others. Whether it is wording or identity. As much as people want unity, why would we want unity from an organization that really doesn’t support the United States in its efforts to fight diabetes?
clever graphic with the blue circle and pink ribbons there.
when we wore our blue circle logo shirts to our first JDRF walk last year, we had SO MANY people asking us what it stood far, since they had never seen it before. i’m all for uniting under a common logo.
Thinking back to our group discussion in San Diego, I am so happy to see how you’ve developed a campaign for this! I agree with all of your points, and would like to piggyback, and say it’s ridiculous that blue circle merchandise is so hard to get. I made t-shirts on cafepress because I wanted a t-shirt, although I wasn’t sure if cafepress would tell me I couldn’t do it since it’s not my symbol. Just this week, I was asked how to get a blue circle pin. It’s absurd to me that someone has to ask around about getting something as simple as a little pin.
And now I’m getting all frustrated writing about it, lol! I will snag the banner for my website, and I’ll be posting about it soon. Thanks for spearheading this initiative, Amy!
Thanks, Lee Ann! The more I look around, the more I realize just how much the patient community has already adopted the Blue Circle and taken it to heart. Check out this amazing Blue Circle jewelry, for example:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/58460829/sterling-silver-blue-crystal-circle
Let’s face it… Diabetes is not sexy! No one- virtually- knows the difference between type 1 and 2.. and there is a stigma for people with type 2 that they did something to bring on their diabetes… so it is their fault. When I tell people I have type 1… they look at me and ask, ” So how fat were you?” Then I go into my type 1 is not type 2 shpeal!
After 15 years with type 1, I reinvented my career and am a health and nutrition coach for people with diabetes… both kinds… and run support groups for both kinds. Huge difference in the feeling of empowerment to own up to your disease. Type 2s certainly do NOT go around being proud of and broadcasting their disease. They are ashamed.
With breast cancer.. like type 1… we can claim that we did not do anything to bring our disease upon our selves… IT happened to us. Type 2 is not the same. I totally agree that it would be wonderful to MAKE TYPE 1 DIABETES SEXY! Then we might get the incredible attention and supportive movement behind us that breast cancer has. I think the Team Type 1 groups have all helped in this movement. We do need more of it. Thanks for the discussion, Amy and others!
[...] the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) website, just as we had called for in our advocacy campaign last November (diabetes awareness month). Kudos to AADE! The Blue Circle is still conspicuously absent from the [...]