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It’s true that people like to show their support for charities and causes. It’s important for these charities or causes to attach themselves to the people who are supporting them as this helps to further raise awareness and support. In the past this was done through all manner of novelty items such as mugs, pens, t-shirts and so on, however most of these items generally lacked visibility and more importantly the lacked cool.
From the Slap Wrap to the Livestrong Foundation.
Sometime in the 1980’s a Wisconsin teacher called Stuart Anders invented the Slap Bracelet which was marketed as the ‘Slap Wrap’ and became popular with teenagers. The bracelet contained slithers of springing metal that curved to the shape of the wearer when slapped against the wrist. Much like the personalised wristbands of today, the slap wrap was available in all manner of colours and patterns. At the time Anders was quoted as saying “I’d like to think Slap Wraps will last 30 years,” and as far as I’m aware they’re still going in their original format.
Jump to 2004 and the slap wrap has evolved into something much more useful and a whole lot more marketable. Multi-title cyclist Lance Armstrong had just come out of a lengthy battle with cancer and as a consequence he became interested in the cancer cause. Lance wanted to find a way to raise money for cancer research.
Along with his marketing team he came up with the ‘Livestrong’ concept and the Livestrong cancer support wristband. The yellow wristband was made of silicone and debossed with the Livestrong logo. The wearer would buy the silicone wristband and wear it to show they are supporting the Livestrong cause. It was a stroke of marketing genius and people bought into the cause in their hundreds of thousands, raising millions for cancer research and cementing the Livestrong Foundation in the consciousness of the western hemisphere.
Due to the massive success of the Livestrong Wristband Campaign, personalised wristbands were adopted by many more charitable causes and became available in all manner of colours and patterns much like the earlier slap wrap.
Here’s a list of some of the causes that adopted personalised wristbands.
- Make Poverty History (white wristband)
- Yes Beat Liver Tumors (yellow and black wristband)
- BBC’s Beat Bullying (blue wristband)
- Stand Up Speak Up (black and white wristband)
- British Heart Foundation (red wristband)
- Kidney Donation (green wristband)
Public Curiosity of Personalised Wristbands Comes as Standard.
Because of the huge impact wristbands have had for charitable causes almost every cause or charitable event now has a personalised wristband. As much as they are used for raising money and awareness they have also become a keepsake and souvenirs of the cause or event, with many people wearing them for weeks or months after the event or initial publicity of the cause.
They are huge talking points and the curiosity surrounding them trigger lengthy conversations about the charitable cause in question and general chit chat about charitable giving as a whole. When a person buys a charity wristband they get a really cool, colourful wristband that makes a statement on their and your behalf plus you get to raise the much need cash for cause. It’s totally win-win for everyone involved!
Long Lasting & Comfortable to Wear.
Whilst personalised wristbands can be and are made from a range of materials, the longer lasting charity wristbands are usually produced from silicone. This makes them much more comfortable and durable and also helps to keep down costs.
Other wristband materials include:
Personalised wristbands are extremely light & comfortable and come in a variety of colours and designs. They can easily be purchased online with most sellers offering the widely used debossed silicone wristbands mentioned earlier.
So if you have a charity or charitable cause that that you’re looking to get support for it’s definitely worth considering personalised wristbands as a way to raise money and awareness.