AHA Go Red for Women

In early 2003, the American Heart Association and Cone set out to infuse more passion and emotion into the AHA’s brand, which was well-respected but largely recognized as clinical. To reposition itself, the AHA launched its first national cause campaign, Go Red for Women, designed to engage women around the issue of heart disease.

Cone implemented a national communications campaign with marketing, PR, media relations, events, promotions and corporate relations strategies, in addition to local efforts driven by the AHA’s 2,200 divisions across the country. Actress Daryl Hannah and singer Toni Braxton were recruited as celebrity spokespersons and the AHA partnered with Clear Channel Entertainment to produce billboards and radio PSAs to spread health messages across the U.S. Cone and the AHA also created an annual fundraising event branded National Wear Red Day and launched the Go Red for Women Heart Checkup, an interactive online assessment of women’s heart health.

Communications strategies resulted in:

• 50% of consumers named Go Red for Women as the #1 cause movement important to them in 2007
• Macy’s, Pfizer and Merck signed on as national sponsors
• More than 14.14B media impressions were generated from national and local coverage
• 26 countries around the world adopted the campaign and conducted awareness activities
• More than 823,000 women have enrolled in the movement to date
• $300MM has been raised for the cause by Go Red for Women