The Queen of Cause Marketing

By DAVID S. JACKSON/LOS ANGELES

When Katie Couric wanted to bring national attention to colon cancer, she turned to an expert--Lisa Paulsen. It isn't that Paulsen is an expert on the disease, although she's learning fast. Her real skill, as president and CEO of the nonprofit Entertainment Industry Foundation, is raising public consciousness--and money--by using some of the biggest names in show business to focus public attention.

Over the years, E.I.F. has funneled more than $140 million to various charitable causes, and lately it has been targeting health initiatives, like a $20 million fund-raising campaign to support breast-cancer research. Leveraging the power of celebrity to fight disease is a well-tested strategy. Think Christopher Reeve and spinal-cord injury or Michael J. Fox and Parkinson's disease.

So the first thing Paulsen did after she was introduced to Couric by Lilly Tartikoff was line up an A list of celebs to add their limelight to the cause, including NYPD Blue star Dennis Franz, whose father died of colon cancer; St. Louis Cardinal Eric Davis, whose colon cancer was diagnosed when he was 35; and TV's Judge Judy, who lost her mother to the disease. The cash is coming from corporate sponsors. Aetna US Healthcare and others have pledged a total of $10 million, and another $10 million is due from the entertainment industry. But what gets people's attention--and gets them in for a checkup--is the glow from all those stars.

--By David S. Jackson/Los Angeles