Uber Australia has collected over 80,000kgs of clothes were donated across the country in six hours, across Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane, following its 2024 Red Cross Clothing Drive campaign across earned and social media channels over the weekend.
The campaign, lead by Poem, featured Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause as a ‘Professional Selling Expert’ to encourage Aussies to donate, not sell their unused quality outfits this year.
The creative was particularly poignant given Stause and her castmates are renowned for donning iconic – yet highly impractical – fashion looks when selling properties on their reality TV show. In the social-led campaign assets, Stause admitted her on screen looks are not suitable for everyday life and usually end up being donated to avoid taking up valuable wardrobe real estate.
Local research commissioned as part of the campaign reveals Stause is no different to 84% of Australians, who currently have over $20 billion worth of perfectly good quality clothing sitting untouched in their wardrobes that could be collected from doorsteps for free this Saturday by Uber.
“In it’s sixth year now, Uber’s annual Clothing Drive for Australian Red Cross has a strong legacy, and the quantity of donations this campaign drives every year is just phenomenal,” Nicole Bardsley, head of marketing for Uber ANZ, said.
“We’re proud to be able to use our tech for good, but this year we wanted to take things a step further by encouraging Australians not just to donate quantity – but quality too.”
“People often sell their quality clothes, which means charities like Red Cross are left with lower quality, harder-to-resell donations. Chrishell was the perfect ambassador to communicate that message for us – she has an authentic connection to the cause and a wardrobe filled with high quality clothes ready to be donated. Plus her rising cultural cachet in Australia has earned this campaign the attention it deserves.”
Kira Reed, director of marketing and communications at Australian Red Cross, said: “The success of this Clothing Drive goes beyond the numbers; it signifies a collective commitment to supporting communities in need.”
“We are grateful for the multi-year partnership with Uber that has allowed us to reach new heights and make a significant difference. The Australian community is a generous one, and despite cost of living placing constraints on some people’s ability to financially donate, they’ve dug deep and their pre-loved clothes will now contribute to successfully helping those in need.”
The integrated campaign was led by Poem driving strategy, creative and publicity, alongside Hello Social leading an influencer program and Essence MediaCom supporting with paid media.
“We recognised the importance of this legacy campaign, we needed a strategic concept that would not just capture the attention of Australia, but more importantly, change the way Aussies donate to the Red Cross,” Katie Raleigh, managing partner at Poem said.
“Uber is synonymous with choosing culturally-relevant talent and approached us with an ambitious goal to repeat success again, but with an earned-first approach at the heart of the idea. Our team was dedicated to uncover a talent that was connected to Australian culture but also related to a ‘donate better’ attitude and had their own authentic story to tell which allowed us to leverage across earned, owned and paid channels effectively.”
As part of the initiative, Chrishell is donating – not selling – some of her own iconic looks from the show, which are now available in Red Cross boutiques around Australia. She says giving back is important to her, as she was supported by Red Cross as a child growing up in the United States. The funds raised from sales of Chrishell’s donations, alongside the rest of Australia’s, will support vulnerable Australian communities impacted by the cost of living and natural disasters.
CREDITS:
Client: Uber
Director of Marketing, APAC: Andy Morley
Head of Marketing, ANZ: Nicole Bardsley
Marketing Manager, ANZ: Sally Luff
PR & Communications Lead, ANZ: Claire McAdam
Project Manager: Anna Viney
Social Media Lead, ANZ: Chanelle Murray
Social Media Associate ANZ: Haley Evirgen
Creative Director, APAC: Adam Ledbury
Marketing Manager – Influencers, Dan Greenberg
Client: Australian Red Cross
Director of Marketing & Communications: Kira Reed
Marketing Manager, Catherine Frohlich
Head of Marketing, Partnerships and Philanthropy: Natalia Meyer
Senior Manager, Social, Media & External Engagement: Lilly Ward
Strategy, Creative & Publicity: Poem
Founder: Rob Lowe
Managing Partner: Katie Raleigh
General Manager: Rhania Farah
Creative Director: Jessica Cluff
Executive Director, Strategy & Social: Alex Watts
Senior Account Director: Chelsea Wright
Senior Account Manager: Robbie Purcell
Account Manager: Vanessa Chamoun
Senior Account Executive: Georgia Tiernan
Account Executive: Lauren Duncan
Media agency: EssenceMediacom
Cordelia Ong – Marketplace Coordinator
Noelle Wang – Marketplace Associate Manager
Indy Duane – Marketplace Executive
Aly Rodrigo – Marketplace Associate Director
Alice Johnson – Planning Director
Lucy Woodland – Associate Strategy Director
Matt Leahy – Digital Director
Nathaniel Thompson – Client Partner
Influencer: Hello Social
Director of Client Experience: Madeline Marovino
Account Director: Nathan Bramley
Senior Account Manager: Charlotte Shackley
Senior Account Director for Talent & PR, Jessica Campion
Production:
Director: Jessica Cluff (Poem)
Producer: Hattie Morgan (Poem)
Producer: Saba Abraha
Co-Director/DOP: Olivia McCary
First Assistant Camera: Jennifer Hook
Sound: Joshua Reyes
Lighting: Weiland Kurt
Stills Photographer: Jason Kent
Talent lead: Sarah Kennedy
Stylist: Elizabeth Meredith
Hair: Brandin Palestino
Makeup: Nova Kaplan
Editors: Nick Sullivan and Nic Venettacci
Grade: Scott Maclean (More Better)
Online: Carve & Stitch
Audio post:
Sound Designer: Electric Sheep Music
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Top image: Chrishell Stause