Tie-in with major nappy brand 'could reach 10 million people'
Childhood continence charity Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence - known as Eric - has generally found corporate partnerships hard to come by. But for one commercial brand, Eric was the obvious choice.
A partnership with Pampers to promote the nappy brand's UnderJams, a new product for children who have problems with bedwetting, will help raise the charity's profile among the parents that need its services.
Eric's logo and website address are displayed on all packs of UnderJams, which first appeared in shops in January. Jenny Perez, director of Eric, says the charity is providing "endorsement by association", but is not suggesting that the product is a solution to childhood incontinence.
"We are linking up with UnderJams because it's a product we know people use," she says. "Although we are not saying it's a solution to the problem, it's a fantastic opportunity to get our name out there."
During a promotional campaign to launch UnderJams, Eric's logo and website address appeared in a number of advertising features in women's magazines such as Red, She and OK!. Perez says the campaign could reach 10 million people in total. "We don't have the budget for that sort of thing," she says. "It's fantastic exposure."
Eric has one other corporate partnership, running research groups for child trust fund provider Children's Mutual. "We receive a donation for each session," says Perez.
But other firms are harder to attract. "I'm keen to see if we can get a partnership going with a company that's got nothing to do with the cause," she says. "But having something with the word 'continence' on it is not a big appeal to most companies."
