Raising awareness of the RNLI’s lifesaving charity work through the Ford UK dealership network
It was recently announced that Ford will be the official vehicle supplier to the RNLI for the next 3 years. This clearly establishes Ford as a visible presence at UK beaches and lifeboat stations where the RNLI carries out its lifesaving work. But the collaboration also presents a significant opportunity to raise awareness of the RNLI through the Ford dealer network.
An opportunity to reach an entirely new audience
The RNLI tasked BBD with helping to develop a pilot scheme which would help raise awareness (and funds) for its lifesaving work in an authentic way by leveraging shared Ford and RNLI values of safety, dependability and environmental awareness.
It was decided that for this initial launch we would produce a digital-only information pack for distribution to the dealerships which would communicate the partnership, encourage dealerships to get involved, and offer inspiring ideas for possible fundraising activities in their showrooms.
Our key objective was to design an easy-to-navigate, concise pack that remains faithful to the values and visual identity of the RNLI whilst incorporating the collaboration with Ford with a compelling creative idea at the heart.
Aligning two iconic brands
The chosen idea assertively juxtaposes Ford vehicles with the moments of RNLI lifesaving activity, to the extent that there is little more than a hairline’s breadth between the two.
The idea was to present the two iconic brands being joined by a proactive approach to taming their environment. By placing Ford and the RNLI right against each other, with the text aligned alongside the same axis, we are suggesting that this is as close a collaboration as possible, yet with either side retaining its distinct brand identity.
A flexible RNLI fundraising pack for Ford showrooms
Also included in the downloadable bundle were several high impact environmental assets including flags and empty belly posters which enabled the dealerships to tailor the messaging to their chosen activity and, if budget allowed, create a bigger impact. We also threw in some extra fundraising ideas and activities relevant to the dealerships – car stuffing, charity car wash and wheel change challenge.
If the pilot goes well we have plenty of ideas for extending the campaign including the creation of exciting new physical and digital assets for the dealerships to use.
See more of our work for charities here or find out more about the partnership at rnli.org
