The Dodge Dart Registry is an interesting angle on crowdfunding – where the crowdfunding is more marketing than a fund raising tactic. Â The platform, powered by RocketHub, currently has over 6000 “registrants” listed on the site. Â Registrants are individuals who have created their car, similar to a bridal registry, and now are soliciting friends, family and strangers to purchase “parts”. Â Eventually you can end up with an entire car.
Chrysler Corporation certainly deserves credit for their creativity with this marketing approach. Â Awareness is pretty high but it is not clear as to the overall success of this marketing campaign. Â In reviewing the site there were no “Registries” completed or fully funded out of the 6000 registrants. Â There were more than a few cars with zero days left and barely any funds raised.
One relatively successful effort was from a fraternity from USC which was offering up the vehicle as a charity effort for Meals on Wheels. Â The ZBT Fraternity had garnered 118 sponsors with only a 22 parts remaining to build the car.
Any revenue raised, ostensibly for a Dart, may actually be used in any way the recipients desires (the maximum amount which can be raised is $30,000). Â As stated on the sites FAQ:
Do I have to buy a Dodge Dart with the Money I raise?
Not necessarily. While the money can be used for anything, the people who helped you fund the vehicle you promoted would be disappointed to not see you driving a shiny new Dodge Dart on the road.
So the real benefit for Chrysler – and the Dodge Dart – are the thousands of individuals building their Dream Dart and then emailing, tweeting, sharing it with their families and friends. Â From a marketing pitch this is probably money well spent. Â Anyone can waste thousands on Google AdWords. Â So even if no cars are ever built from the site- and the way cars are bought is not permanently changed – Â the Dodge Dart probably scored a big hit in promoting their brand.