Macy’s Expands “Go Red” Promotions in Ninth Year

For the ninth consecutive year, Macy’s will stage “Go Red” events and promotions next month in support of the American Heart Association’s “Go Red For Women” campaign to raise funds and bring awareness to the problem of heart disease in women.

The campaign turns on in-store events, themed merchandise and experiences that no customer entering its stores could miss. Social media will also play a large role in virally spreading the message while at the same time triggering donations to the cause.

Macy’s is a founding national sponsor of the movement and, since 2004, has raised more than $28 million for “Go Red.”

“Our efforts with philanthropy are part of the DNA of this brand,” Holly Thomas, vice president of cause marketing-national, for Macy’s, said. “We’ve been around for a long time and giving back to causes that matter to our customer are integral to how we connect with our customers. The value for us is certainly continuing that relationship with the customer.”

Macy’s has evolved the program and added new elements this year. Here’s a look at how the program will roll out.

The Launch Event

The month of events and promotions will kick off Feb. 3 at Macy’s Herald Square with “Go Red For Women” celebrity spokespersons Elizabeth Banks, Star Jones and Nick Verreos.

The Wear Red Sale

Beginning Feb. 1 though Feb. 5, any customer wearing anything red—from an entire ensemble to lipstick—will receive a 10% or 20% discount on a wide assortment of merchandise. Customers not wearing red can also receive discounts by purchasing the official “Go Red For Women” red dress lapel pin for $2.

Three of Macy’s merchants—I.N.C., Alfani and Charter Club—have designed red dresses that are available in stores or at Macys.com. The dresses will retail from $69.50 to $89, with 10% of the purchase price of each dress sold between Jan. 29 and Feb. 25 donated to the American Heart Association.

“This is the first year we’ve had three dresses, it’s typically been a single red dress from I.N.C. but this year we wanted to do a collection in different shades of red to offer more variety for the customer,” Thomas said. “The dresses get merchandised within the store within a vignette that calls out our relationship with “Go Red.”

Red Dress Dash

In this event, women dressed in red will run relay races in some stores across the country as a way to encourage heart-healthy lifestyles. Last year, Macy’s raised about $1 million from this event alone.

“We’ve largely held casting call events so this year we worked with “Go Red” to add a new layer to those events, the Red Dress Dash,” she said. “They’ll happen in a limited number of stores where we invite women to show their fashion and show their red color and do a quick relay race. That will happen in preliminary mode this year and role out in the coming years.”

Go Red Connect

These events, to be held in stores in many cities the weekend of Feb. 3 through Feb. 5, allow women share their stories for the chance to become a spokesperson for the cause—representing Go Red For Women in marketing materials at events and on GoRedForWomen.org.

“One of the most prevailing things we learned is how prevalent heart disease is in women and how little they know that to be the case,” Thomas said. “There is a huge education component to help our customers understand this disease.”

The Social Connection

Valentine’s Day plays a big role here. On Macy’s Facebook page, fans can self select a Valentine’s Day conversation heart or write on of their own to sent to their friends. For each virtual heart shared from through Feb. 14, Macy’s will donate $2 to “Go Red”. Macy’s Twitter followers can also participate by tweeting #heart@Macys from Feb. 1 through Feb. 14, and Macy’s will donate $2 for each tweet, up to a maximum donation of $250,000 for both Facebook and Twitter participation.

“We’re doing something slightly different this year with the conversation hearts and connecting to Valentine’s Day,” she said. “Obviously, there’s a natural connection to hearts and Valentines Day.”

The month-long program is heavily supported through TV spots, local radio, Facebook posts, local outreach, in-store marketing and print ads.

“Every vehicle that we usually use to touch our customer we use to support this program,” Thomas said.