Disappointed in The Beacon's name change

@nikkid
I have pondered your comment regarding "love your sister" they get this generation.... they are in sync with them.... They utilise all the emerging technologies to stay connected with "their village..... "
As More and More young women are being diagnosed daily and along with that more men as we raise awareness.... Surely there is a way to incorporate all that are supported by BCNA ? 
Twenty years ago it was older women who were being diagnosed with BC rarely young women....  We need to be up with the times..... 
@AllyJay 
We are a diverse group who get Breast Cancer not just "little old ladies in pearls and twin sets" dressed in pink.
 But strong men and women with families and friends fighting to kill the BITCH called BC. 

I guess I can tolerate pink as I think of Pink the singer but lady ? Reminds me of a rather quaint English magazine The Lady which is also anachronistic .

I have also been following this discussion with interest. I have been an active member of the on-line network since soon after my diagnosis almost 5 years ago. I have not commented before because I feel most of what I think has been said very well by others on this post.

To be honest the Pink Lady logo has always embarrassed me when advocating for the terrific work that BCNA does in support of people (not just women) diagnosed with breast cancer. I really feel it is outdated. It just does not symbolise the reality of the broad range of people who are diagnosed with this disease. I do not see myself as a Pink Lady. It is not a symbol I can identify with. Surely we can do better.

I too was part of The State of the Nation talks and certainly do not remember this topic being raised for feedback. I feel that strengthening the association of BCNA with the Pink Lady symbol is a backwards step. 

I think that @nikkid has said it all. I could not agree more.

I agree with you @nikkid. Here was this resource, with all our diverse backrounds, qualifications, genders, strengths, networks, opinions, feelings, social demographics and so on ad infinitum and "Pssshhh...nah...we'll get the opinion of titty intact professionals to tell us what we ???"Consumers"??? want, need or appreciate? The Pink Lady certainly doesn't float my boat either. Looks to me like the little styalised figures of traffic signs. You know the little schoolgirl, holding the hand of her smaller brother, and the two stooped old farts warning of a nearby nursing home. Yes them. I'm not a prim and proper Pink Lady myself, nor one of the Twin Set and Pearls with pantihose and matching bag and shoes type either. My adult offspring tell me I look like a 1970's LSD flashback with my  sartorial inelegance. I don't identify with it and I do have some Pink in me...my pink bits. If I were a man, without even that connection with "Pink", I would feel totally unmasculinated and marginalised. A, in my view, token bone tossed to them in an effort to include them in the Corporate Image, I feel is disingenious to say the least.  What a prime opportunity, with such a broadbased resource to tap into, us Brothers and Sisters in this abominable war, united and together, to step into the modern era, without the dated, steriotyped, discriminatory logo from the past...wasted. Grateful for the support and information from the Organisation, but Fuck a Duck you folks, put on your Listening Ears and hear what we are saying, please.

@Romla  I put that together at like 1am after the online forum and facebook groups I admin had gone quiet and I had finished doing my (paid job) it was a quick logo to give them an idea... that it could be inclusive nothing about the colours or the name on it was something to be definitely on the logo but just an idea... also there is a high incidence of Prostate Cancer and Breast Cancer in families it is a common theme.... when I was discussing with the geneticist about my need for BRAC testing- one of the important things was a history of Males with prostate cancers as there is now evidence that the are co existing in some way. 
@Zoffiel
Do you have a reliable link to the  Kotter's 8 step method please.
@Summerhill38
you also write a well written note of expression to the point without being nasty. 
 @nikkid
oh where were you at 1am this morning when my brain was tired but I wanted to respond to the reply by @Christine_BCNA-CEO, you have very nicely said things I was thinking but unable to put into words. 
@traveltext
@"Chester80$$"
@PeterB
Gentleman please tell us what you would like to see as a logo or name of the Beacon that is inclusive of everyone. 

This forum is a part of BCNA a vital part for those of us who have BC or have a loved one with BC it is important that the Organisation is aware that we are the people who freely promote the Organisation. 
We already lost a wave of women from this forum when it changed over to the new platform and they were unhappy with  changes... They now run their own groups on Facebook, I think it is vital to stay in a moderated community whereby research and things are quantified and not some google left or right field "lets all eat apricot kernels and not get cancer" 

Please the face of how we connect is changing we need to think about the Future.  I know my 20& 30 yr old daughters have once glanced at the BEACON and gone elsewhere for information we need to keep in touch with the whole community that is both those who are technologically challenged as well as the younger generation coming up who solely rely on information via Computer or smart phones etc. 

Alice 

I've been following the discussion with interest and here are a few of my thoughts:

The Name and the Logo:
Pink Lady might've cut the mustard 20 years ago but the logo and name seem out of touch with contemporary thinking about women and their place (the word 'lady', the colour pink, the dress....I never wear pink, like to be thought of as a woman and only rarely wear dresses!). Come on...surely the challenge is to move into the C21 and to be future looking in both the organisation's approach to innovation, and its branding! Otherwise, it is in danger of becoming redundant. It's great that BCNA tried to save $ and did these changes in-house......and I commend you for doing this.But key messaging and branding reflect the values of the organisation - 'pink lady' doesn't do it for me in 2018.

The Colour
The 'breast cancer space' as @Christine_BCNA-CEO says, is like all not-for-profits, a competitive environment where there is shrinking funding and so there is a need to have a brand that exemplifies, highlights and promotes BCNA (or is there a need for mergers across not-for-profits to rally resources????)....but pink is used by everyone (see McGrath Foundation and the Pink Test; see Pink Stumps Days; see Field of Women). It is a culturally loaded colour - not gender-neutral...and frankly, so is blue...so I'm not sure how I think about that! Compare this to Sam and Connie Johnson's Love Your Sister (http://www.loveyoursister.org/ ) use of black....so powerful because all of us who have had cancer know it's no walk in the park and black seems to sum it up :)

The Consultation
The BCNA Online Forum would've been an excellent place to start the discussion - free, low cost, and with access to thousands of women and men to float ideas, brainstorm together, build ownership. What BCNA has failed to do in their 'State of the Nation' (which I also responded to, and was not given any opportunity to discuss 'Beacon' vs 'Pink Lady') was leverage this resource....in fact, BCNA completely overlooked it (see Marketing and Comms 101) and failed to gather a Guiding Coalition to lead the change. 

Next steps
I didn't mind the name of the Beacon, but I certainly don't embrace or support the name 'Pink Lady': it's dated, it's excluding of male members; it's gender-biased and it's out of touch! Time for BCNA to get with the program!

Your members....all of us here....are a resource that needs to be tapped into (I won't go into my reaction to the latest BCNA promo video for now, but suffice to say, it was like we didn't exist), leveraged and utilised. We care. We appreciate the work you do. And we're at the front line.

In the end, what you do with the magazine won't affect me much at all - but I'll be less inclined to read it, less inclined to promote it and reluctant to share it with others. Is that the outcome you genuinely want?

Nikki

Well said @traveltext, @Zoffiel and @SoldierCrab !
The boss lady is good at writing lengthy politically-correct-sounding blurbs (perhaps good for business fundraising) but clearly she has lost the point of this whole posting.
Whilst some BC people, male or female, may not really give a damn about any changes, this posting has certainly highlighted that some people do care.
Me ?  Not Happy Jan but I will answer with my Will - BCNA will no longer be the major beneficiary.  But there again, my meagre $1m of assets is probably their petty cash tin.

Firstly @iserbrown thinking of you and sending you big hugs - we are all here for you as you can see. Secondly @SoldierCrab I support all that has been said re the inappropriate choice of Pink Lady however the blue male image may not be possible as think is entangled with the Prostate Cancer campaign but a good try nonetheless. One not so small point if BCNA is a business then we are it’s customers.It would seem this name change may have been hastily conceived with little consultation but they may have incurred significant costs in rebranding that may make it difficult to swiftly correct however businesses do and can correct marketing mistakes witness the recent Arnott debacle over their Shapes range. However from the BCNA web address it is not a business but an “org” which I assume may mean it is a not for profit - I’d be interested to know if there are revenue raising reasons linked to the change perhaps with the business sector. Finally I think Kate Jenkins Sex Discrimination Commisioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission may be interested in the rationale too. Intransigence I don’t believe suffices in the face of significant opposition from your client base nor logic when breast cancer is not gender specific but an inclusive disease.

Thanks Zoffiel, I have no business background in the sense of University etc, but I  have a brain and I use it. I will read the Kotter's 8 step method and from that might get more thoughts on the matter, and write some more. It is amazing the people on this forum with the varied skills and backgrounds, who can see this is not a good move...