Silicone wristbands have been popular for about six years now. Cancer survivor and professional cyclist Lance Armstrong introduced the yellow "Livestrong" wristband in 2004, kicking off the trend. In less than a year, the bands became enormously popular the world over.
Many other organizations quickly adopted the silicone wristbands in other colors to support various causes. It soon became impossible to tell what cause most colors represented just by looking at the color. By late 2005, many people were writing the wristband's obituary, calling it an overexposed fad. Others derided them as nothing more than a form of "slacktivism," a feel-good trinket that does little to help the causes they promote.
And yet here we are in 2010 with silicone wristband sales still going strong. Wristbands are still enormously successful fundraisers for schools, charities, churches and many other organizations. The "fad" shows little sign of abating. So what's the secret to wristbands' continued success?
In a word, effectiveness. Wristbands are an amazingly successful fundraising tool. Why? Because they can be produced at low cost, and sold at a low price. The selling price enables just about anyone who wants a wristband to purchase it. Yet the per-unit profit on each band is higher than just about any other promotional product.
OK, so what does that mean in the real world? Consider this: 500 basic debossed wristbands, with a custom message pressed into the silicone, cost $0.27 each, a total of $135. Sell those wristbands for $2 each and you net $865 to donate to the cause of your choice. And remember, your cost goes down as the order quantity goes up. Order 5,000 debossed silicone wristbands and they're only $0.15 each, for a total of $750. Sell them at $2 each, and you net $9,250 for your cause.
If you're not persuaded, consider what Washington Local Schools, a Toledo, Ohio school district, achieved. When the January earthquake devastated Haiti, the district ordered silicone wristbands imprinted with the words "help Haiti heal." Selling wristbands to students, faculty, staff and parents, they raised nearly $5,000 for Haitian relief efforts in three weeks. Still call that slacktivism?
With respect to issue awareness, it's true that the proliferation of wristbands in various colors has made it nearly impossible to tell what a particular color represents (the Livestrong band being an obvious exception). That doesn't make the wristband meaningless. The only sure way to know what the wristband represents is to ask the person wearing it. That gives the wearer a chance to explain in-depth about their cause, and gives the person asking much more information than they would otherwise have just by seeing the color.
Although the initial trendiness of the wristband may have faded a bit, the fundraising power and awareness raising potential of a simple silicone band remains intact. And it shows no sign of going away any time soon.
Wholesale-Wristbands is your perfect choice for custom silicone wristbands. Give us a call today, TOLL FREE at 1.800.828.3139, or email us at wristbands@wholesale-wristbands.com and let us show you how we can help your fundraising or awareness-building for your cause or organization.
