Twitter image from Cash & Rocket
Valentino, Net-A-Porter, Bentley Motors, Aston Martin and Maserati are participating in the third annual Cash & Rocket charity drive to reach female consumers.
For the event, 70 handpicked female tastemakers will be driving 35 red automobiles on a route from Venice to London to raise money for three non-governmental organizations. Because the drivers are women from art, film, fashion, business and music, the charity initiative will likely be watched closely on social media by female consumers.
"[Cash & Rocket] involves a lot of interesting, creative, energetic women driving the cars," said Julia Marozzi, head of lifestyle communications at Bentley Motors, London. "From that we attract interest from a female audience that we’re reaching out to to attract them to the Bentley brand."
Driving for a cause
Cash & Rocket will kick off June 5 in Venice, Italy. After overnight stops in Geneva and Paris, the tour will end in London.
Map of the Cash & Rocket route published by Valentino
For the event, the drivers will be behind the wheels of vintage and luxury cars outfitted with matching red branded wrappings. This large out of home display will likely attract the attention of consumers.
This year, Cash & Rocket is raising money for OrphanAid Africa, Shine on Sierra Leone and Sumbandila.
OrphanAid Africa is an NGO that began in Ghana to help the non-orphan children in orphanages return to their families who could not support them because of poverty, disease or social issues, and then helps the families to provide a safe home for the children.
Shine on Sierra Leone is an international charity founded seven years ago to expand access to education.
Subandila makes rural children into entrepreneurs through mentorship and education.
Bentley, as a supporting partner, has provided two cars for the convoy.
Photo taken during the 2013 Cash & Rocket event
One of the cars will be driven by Maria Grazia Chiuri, one of the creative directors of Valentino. The fashion label has been a part of the event since its beginnings in 2012, and last year, the designer was also a driver for the event (see story).
Valentino has been promoting the drive on social media. First the brand shared the fundraising page for the designer’s page, where consumers could donate to her team.
Valentino's JustGiving page for Cash & Rocket
This Web page includes a biography of Ms. Chiuri as well as a brief description of the charity she is raising money for, the Marwyn Trust.
Following that, Valentino made sure all visitors to its Facebook page knew about the event by changing its cover photo to an image of the cars with a headline about the convoy.
Valentino Facebook cover photo for Cash & Rocket
Net-A-Porter, a sponsor of the event, will be selling seven exclusive pieces from Valentino’s Rouge Signature Absolute collection from June 4. Valentino creative directors Ms. Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli created the merchandise specifically for Cash & Rocket.
Prices for the collection range from $290 to $6,690, allowing luxury consumers on a variety of budgets to take part. To support the charities, Net-A-Porter is going to donate 20 percent of the proceeds from sales of the Rouge Absolute Signature collection pieces.
Cash & Rocket has raised a total of $550,000 over the past couple of years.
Prime placement
Other fashion labels have had success by participating in large-scale outdoor charity initiatives.
U.S. fashion label Ralph Lauren’s egg had been cracked the most times out of the more than 260 art installations hidden around New York as part of Fabergé’s The Big Egg Hunt at the halfway point.
During The Big Egg Hunt, consumers could use their mobile device to “crack,” or check in, at an egg’s location through a dedicated app to participate in the game. Nine days into the contest, the eggs had been cracked more than 124,000 times, with Ralph Lauren’s egg receiving at least 1,400 check-ins (see story).
When more than one luxury brand teams up for a cause, the message and the effect is stronger.
For instance, Condé Nast imprints are joining the fight against mother-to-child HIV transmission through a partnership with charity Born Free Africa.
May issues of Condé Nast-owned publications, such as Architectural Digest and Vanity Fair, include Born Free Africa advertisements to spread awareness about the multi-faceted campaign. Condé Nast’s involvement with Born Free Africa includes sponsored events, subscription-based donations and providing exposure for the exclusive capsule collection available at online retailer Shopbop (see story).
This event is unique for the brands involved, since it brings together a number of news-generating women, who also engage with fans on social media.
"I can’t think of another activity we do that is similar to this," Ms. Marozzi said.
Final Take
Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York