Setback turning into stroke of luck for breast calendar creator
DIRK SCHOUTEN MERCURY STAFF
Guelph Mercury Local, Tuesday, June 25, 2002, p. A5
GUELPH - Sue Richards, a city art educator and consultant, knows about the serendipity entrepreneurs occasionally enjoy. Apparently, a financial loss of $35,000 she suffered last year has transformed itself into a giant marketing promotion.
The creator of Breast of Canada, a calendar aimed at promoting breast health, had to give away 15,000 copies of the initial 2002 edition after her distribution time ran out.
Almost a year later, however, many people she gave the calendars to have come back to order the 2003 edition. They've also brought orders from friends and associates.
"This wasn't planned. Not at all," Richards said. "What looked like a big mistake (running too many copies of the 2002 calendar) became great promotional material for me. I couldn't have bought this publicity with the same amount of money."
At a conference on breast cancer in British Columbia in early June, Richards set up a booth and began giving away copies of the 2002 calendar. Within two days, she was bombarded by delegates who had heard of her project.
"I couldn't believe so many people knew about what I'm doing. And they all wanted to share their stories. It was so informative and so exciting."
Richards plans to give a portion of future profits to the Canadian Breast Cancer Network, a national organization that will help promote the new calendar.
The 2003 edition, now ready for printing, is smaller and will be five dollars cheaper than the previous calendar (the 2003 product will retail for $19.95).
The photos are smaller because some people were critical of how much space they took up in the 2002 edition. A white border now surrounds most of the pictures.
"Overall, it's more stylish than the previous one," Richards said.
The 2003 calendar's editorial content focuses on breast cancer prevention, whereas the 2002 edition focused on detection. The 2003 version promotes a fitness theme, with models shown in various sports and activities.
It's also toned down from the first edition.
"Yes, I've had to pull back. But, honestly, I had no sense of how much I was pushing the envelope. At the same time, the calendar got to be so well known because I pushed the envelope in the first place."
The 2002 calendar was criticized because of the intimate and daring nature of some photos.
Currently, Richards has $20,000 worth of orders for the new calendar plus $5,000 from sponsors. She needs $15,000 in additional orders before an initial run of 7,500 copies can take place in August.
Breast of Canada 2003 should be available at The Bookshelf and Wild Rose by early September. Richards also counts on two national distributors to move her product.
To learn more about the 2003 calendar, visit www.breastofcanada.com.
© 2002 Guelph Mercury. All rights reserved.