GIRLvsCANCER + Rush Hair – the power of partnerships

One of my favourite things about Tank is the opportunity to work with people who genuinely inspire. I don’t mean those who have simply been successful in business – though it’s fair to say that we know plenty of those.

I’m talking about people who commit beyond the 9 to 5. Those who may not fit the stereotypical corporate mold, but their name is on everyone’s lips for the right reasons and their passion radiates from everything they touch.

Lauren Mahon has been an internet pal of mine since 2011, those heady days of Blogspot communities before Instagram or influencer marketing. In less than a decade, the world has changed immeasurably (we have much less sympathy for irresponsible fast fashion these days), but for Lauren everything turned upside down when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016.

Fast forward three years on, and Lauren has channelled all of the confusion, grief, frustration and sheer joy at surviving into launching GIRLvsCANCER. A platform designed to be an emotional support to those touched by cancer, the multiple award-winning GIRLvsCANCER phenomenon is changing the way people perceive the diseases and is opening a dialogue on this sensitive subject – not to mention raising a shed tonne of cash for charity.

How does this involve Tank?

A cause close to many of our hearts (remember the Breakthrough Breast Cancer clothes swish we hosted back in April 2019?), last year we introduced Lauren to our long-term client Rush Hair, as a no-strings-attached gesture to offer our stylist skills. This was all about the cause, as we knew that hair loss and any subsequent change of image for people going through treatment would be something both parties would know all too well.

This month, Rush Hair supported GIRLvsCANCER on its September shoot, the latest in a series of campaigns to launch a new range of ‘Tit-Tees’ – 25% of sales of which go towards cancer charities. The guest list for this month’s event was insane, think a cohort of incredible cancer survivors, lifestyle influencers, and even the odd celebrity, including Edith Bowman! It was amazing to see so many faces, famous or otherwise, turn up for GIRLvsCANCER.

Partnerships like this often start somewhere very small. I know from chatting to Lauren that she is regularly agog at how far her initiative has come, but it just shows the strength of finding a purpose and the value of tenacity to reach it.

For Tank, creating opportunities for our clients to collaborate, to use that horrible phrase ‘value add services’, boils down to stuff like this. It’s the ecosystem our teams nurture and the beyond-the-brief actions that can often make the biggest difference to our clients and their partners.

Nicola Ellul, head of brand and PR at Rush Hair, agrees. She tells me, “working with Lauren is now a long-term commitment for Rush Hair. There are some really exciting developments of the horizon between the teams and it is so brilliant to be able to provide our support to such an important cause.”

To find out more about the GIRLvsCANCER story, and buy your own Tit-Tee, visit: https://girlvscancer.co.uk/shop/