To further our mission of making reliable health information available to all of those affected by breast cancer and concerned about breast health, we accept sponsored banner awareness campaigns under strict guidelines. We will refuse any sponsorship or messaging that we believe is incompatible with our mission. The presence of paid display or banner awareness campaigns on our site or in our newsletters does not imply endorsement of the sponsor company or product. Sponsors must not make unsubstantiated health claims or suggest that Breastcancer.org has endorsed a product. Sponsorship messaging is not targeted to individual users but may be placed on the site adjacent to content related to the sponsor’s interest. So, for example, a display for a chemotherapy product may be on the page with Breastcancer.org content on chemotherapy options. However, this display or the sponsorship is not related to our content in any way. Sponsor messaging may also appear in our newsletters under the same guidelines.
Breastcancer.org maintains a distinct separation between sponsor messaging and editorial content.
Sponsorship may be allowed by Breastcancer.org provided certain criteria are met:
- Corporate image sponsorship or corporate sponsorship
- Prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration
- Nonmedical or non-health-related consumer products and services
- Consumer products with a potential health connection
- Fitness products or services
- Medical products, devices, or services (including insurance providers)
- Health care services (clinics, hospitals, procedures) — national promotion (geo-targeting is not offered)
- Pharmacies (retail and online — VIPPS program compliant only for online)
Sponsorship that is prohibited by Breastcancer.org includes:
- Alcohol
- Tobacco products
- Firearms/weapons
- Fireworks
- Legal services (including malpractice)
- Pornography
- Gambling/lottery
- Political issues
- Social causes
- Religious topics
- Organizations that conduct fundraising activities
- Other online publishers
- Comparative Sponsorship (no mention of competitive brand names within a banner)
- Products or organizations recruiting for or conducting market research
Sponsorship formats that are prohibited by Breastcancer.org include:
- Pop-ups and floating displays or surveys
- Displays that have forms within them to collect personally identifiable information while a visitor is on Breastcancer.org
The following Sponsorship types are evaluated on a case-by-case basis:
The following criteria must be met:
- Breastcancer.org cannot accept displays/messaging that makes any claims (qualitative or quantitative), promotes a price, or has a call-to-action (other than a link to learn more).
- Sponsor must not make a health claim for its product that is not clearly substantiated. Sponsor may be required to submit supporting documentation to substantiate claims.
- No implication of endorsement by Breastcancer.org of product or sponsor may be made.
- Breastcancer.org retains final approval of all sponsor/product messages, banners, and Sponsorship copy that are directly linked or adjacent to the content. This includes verification of banner content and placement before it is produced on the site.
- The Sponsorship icons and company logos must be displayed in such a way that they clearly are not part of the Breastcancer.org site content.
- Breastcancer.org reserves the right to reject, cancel, or remove at any time any sponsor’s banner from Breastcancer.org for any reason. In such a case, Breastcancer.org will provide prompt notice to the sponsor, together with an explanation. Breastcancer.org also reserves the right to determine the appropriate placement of the sponsor’s banner on the Web site.
- No unsolicited commercial messages are allowed.
- Collecting and selling of mailing lists without the users' expressed permission is not allowed.
- Sponsors and agencies cannot collect any personally identifiable information from Breastcancer.org visitors or place any cookies, applets, or other such files — if those files transmit any personally identifiable information to the sponsors or agencies — on computers of Breastcancer.org visitors who do not visit sponsors' sites by clicking on their banners.
- These guidelines are intended to provide general guidance. They are not inclusive or exhaustive and are subject to change at the discretion of Breastcancer.org at any time.
