Walgreens added a splash of pink this month to stores that have taken on a green hue since September's launch of a new pricing initiative.The chain combined its own fundraising activity for Breast Cancer Awareness Month with those of several national product manufacturers for a "Shop Pink & Save" campaign that promises to raise a cumulative $1 million for various charities. The campaign encourages shoppers to buy select pink products that will trigger donations to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Breast Cancer Network of Strength and other related charities. The effort was introduced in the chain's Sept. 27 circular with a cover feature promoting Georgia-Pacific's Quilted Northern, General Mills' Honey Nut Cheerios, Fiber One and Nature Valley, and Bayer Corp.'s One-A-Day.Those brands, along with Colgate-Palmolive's Softsoap, Colgate and Speedstick, Novartis' Excedrin and Vagistat-1 and generic general merchandise are depicted on "Shop Pink & Save" shelf talkers positioned near participating products. Display headers and stanchions with take-ones promote the campaign, which also includes pink caps on 65 million bottles of prescription medication. Signs direct shoppers to a special microsite for early-detection tips, coupons and other information about the campaign. Walgreens has promised a minimum donation of $400,000 through sales of pink products, which also include hats, shirts, mugs, CDs and Snuggies from Allstar Products Group. The program also includes the donation of 10% from the purchase price of select photo greeting cards throughout the month. On Oct. 7, store photo departments offered personalized photo DVDs for $1, with all sales proceeds earmarked for charity.Among manufacturer-specific tie-ins, Walgreens is promising a $2 donation to the Elizabeth Center for Cancer Detection -- as well as $3 in Register Rewards for the shopper -- for every purchase of $15 in participating Colgate-Palmolive products. And One-A-Day Women's offers a Walgreens-exclusive coupon on the campaign's website. Elsewhere, an account-specific program from Coca-Cola Co. delivers $1 coupons via neckhangers on bottles of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fuze and Evian merchandised on dedicated endcaps. (Fuze sponsors and conducts the "Heroes for Hope" tour, a sampling and photo station at Komen Race for the Cure events.) The chain earlier this month also provided feature support to Procter & Gamble's "Give Hope" campaign. (See "P&G's brandSaver Holds Out 'Hope'" in Related Articles.)The pink signage presents a different color in stores, which since mid-September have carried a variety of bright green signs in a "Save More Green" campaign promoting "New Lower Prices ... on items that matter throughout the store," according to circular cover features that have been running weekly since Sept. 13. The signs adorn most endcaps and power wings, which merchandise both private-label and national brands in such categories as cosmetics and breakfast foods. Ceiling signs and other P-O-P materials support.Speaking earlier this month at the In-Store Marketing Expo, Walgreens chief marketing officer Kim Feil explained that the chain is taking "a more thoughtful approach" to pricing, looking to offer value in categories where its shoppers expect it (such as over-the-counter and personal care) but not necessarily on all items. (See "Expo Keynote: Walgreens Wants ..." in Related Articles.)In other seasonal activity, Walgreens is using "a Little Spirit" and a lot of information in a significantly more sophisticated Halloween sign package than is typically found in the drugstore channel. The seasonal aisle is bedecked with category markers, violators and shelf talkers depicting tiny ghosts that offer holiday advice on safety, decorating, snacks and other related themes. (See Image Gallery at right.) Signs offering snacking tips include brand-specific mentions for such products as Mars Inc.'s M&M's, Hershey's Reese's Pieces and Campbell Soup Co.'s Pepperidge Farm Goldfish.The ghosts also adorn an October coupon book offering approximately $150 in "scary good deals throughout the store" on national and private-label products across multiple categories. A monthly publication since Walgreens ended its EasySaver rebate program last spring (see "Drugstore Rebate Report: May 2009" in Related Articles), the books are distributed in stores via upfront circular racks.Walgreen Co., Deerfield, IL, operates 7,000 drugstores in 50 states.