Chico's Facebook App Prints Cards for Sick Kids

Chico’s FAS, a women’s clothing retail firm, is announcing a “May Is For Miracles” goodwill campaign to raise funds for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals this month. While the effort entails a microsite and earned media pushes via Twitter and Pinterest, the brand’s Facebook app stands out.

Consumers will be able to give a Get Well-styled card to an ill child via the “Send a Smile” app, developed by loyalty services provider ePrize. The card will be printed and mailed to one of CMNH’s 170 locations, and the Facebook app lets the consumer select a specific hospital. For every card, Chico’s will donate $1, up to $50,000 for the month.

Jessica Wells, VP of social media for Chico’s, said her firm raised $500,000 for CMNH last year. Two years ago, Wells said, her Fort Myers, FL-based company surveyed its customer base before selecting the hospitals network as its goodwill marketing partner.

“We asked them what causes they believe in and which ones they support,” she said. “And they told us they support women’s health and children’s health charities. So, this was a natural fit.”

Chico FAS will push the cause to Facebook fans of its various clothing brands, including White House Black Market (206,000 likes), Chico’s (82,000), Boston Proper (43,000), and Soma Intimates (24,000). The company’s Twitter (13,000 followers combined for the four brands) and Pinterest (500-odd total followers) accounts will also be leveraged.

In addition, a one-minute, 30-second video will be posted on YouTube and Facebook, with the latter serving as the campaign’s hub, Wells suggested.

“We have a lot of engaged customers on Facebook,” she said. “That’s why the Facebook application was so important. Plus, Facebook lends itself to sharing. And we want our customers to be able to share information about the campaign. ”

Donations to the cause can be made at one the company’s dozens of brick-and-mortar shops, which are also selling bracelets to raise cash for CMNH. “We are printing postcards for the store counters and shopping bag stuffers that show some of the real [Get Well] cards being sent,” Wells said.