Are There Too Many Charity-run Awareness Days, Weeks and Months?

Any attempt to suggest there are too many awareness days, weeks and months is bound to cause an outcry. Many charities have invested heavily in them as campaigning tools and to help raise their profiles - but that doesn't mean they work.

Any campaign which helps persuade people to, for instance, see their doctor with cancer concerns or give more to needy children has to be good. But the sheer volume of events branded national awareness days/weeks/months means many fail to reach their target.

Take this week as an example. Currently running are: Lung Cancer Awareness Month; Anti-Bullying Week; and National SpeakOut month (to help homeless and socially excluded people influence decision-makers).

No less worthy are this week's: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Awareness Week; Universal Children's Day; Inside Justice Week; and Africa Industrialisation Day (to mobilise commitment to the industrialisation of the continent). And there are a dozen others too, all taking place in one week in November.

There is no doubt some of these brands are very effective. Each October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month generates a range of positive coverage. That campaign is teamed with activities around the country encouraging people to host fundraising events and sport pink ribbons to show their support.

Highlighting the successes of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Jessica Corner, director for improving cancer services at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: "Awareness can quite literally mean the difference between life and death."

And Anti-Bullying Week offers an opportunity to find out what the government is doing to help vulnerable children, and whether cyber-bullying and happy slapping are rare or part of a growing trend.

But it seems to be the same events that dominate coverage each year. For less-favoured groups, launching an awareness day, week or month is an ineffective way to generate publicity.

It sometimes looks like charities have plucked a date out of the air, dubbed it their awareness date and sent out publicity on the back of it hoping for the best. Most are destined to be ignored by mainstream media, which represents a big waste of charity resources.

A better approach might be to forget about awareness days altogether and instead try to find a more unusual or newsworthy way to publicise organisations' work. One series of events run by an animal charity has been dubbed Hoof For Horses. That memorable name has helped ensure the charity's sponsored walks are a fundraising success.

Still, some charities and campaigning groups manage to make awareness dates effective by adding an original twist. Gareth Jenkins, founder and editor of charity newsletter, Count Me In Calendar, points to some creative campaigns, often run by smaller charities, which generated interest and coverage by their ingenuity. He cites: Yummy Mummy Week; Jeans for Genes Day; Bug Busting Day; Wrong Trousers Day; and Togs for Dogs Day. I've no idea what Wrong Trousers Day is, but doesn't the name make you want to find out?