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How do you distinguish your healthcare event from all the others? Same idea as effective break-through advertising. You must create an emotional connection with your target. Something I thought the Rainbow Connection did very well with its “Celebration of Dreams” event last Sunday night. If you’ve never heard of it, this organization makes dreams come true for very sick children. 120 in 2007, to be exact. With trips to Disney World, Sea World, the Oprah Winfrey Show, whatever the youth desires. One 17 year old yearning for his independence on many levels received a brand new car this year.

There was the typical silent and live auctions, food, drinks and socializing. But what warmed my heart on this chilly evening was the involvement of the Wish Kids in a Fashion Show. Coifed and excited, the 4 to 15 year olds strode proudly down the runway, looking as healthy and normal as can be, their families and supporters cheering them on. We shared a table with one Wish family and when their 7 year old jumped on stage in his Spiderman PJs, there was such pride and joy on their faces. Something the Rainbow Connection is good at creating. This family had just returned from a glorious week in Florida fulfilling their son’s dream of trick-or-treating at Disney World.

From a marketing perspective, the Fashion Show was a brilliant display of the Rainbow Connection’s most positive and differentiating asset: the Wish Kids. The personal touch of the children and their real-life stories created an emotional connection for me. I always knew this was a good cause, but that night I felt it. So what will happen? I will remember the event and the organization in a very positive light. I will spread the word. And I will hug my daughter a little longer when I tuck her in at night.

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