Having rebranded in the winter of 2024, the latest incarnation of the sister Red Bull team took on the moniker of Visa Cash App RB – and the title sponsors wanted to make a splash as quickly as possible.
The opportunity arose at the Miami Grand Prix, where the team worked tirelessly to run a special one-off livery, a ‘chameleon’ car that mirrored the iridescent effect of the Cash App Visa Chameleon Card and would catch the eye – as well as the sun – in south Florida.
“With VCARB being such a new team at the time and jumping straight into doing the special livery, it was quite exciting,” said Red Bull Technology’s Senior Brand Designer Alex Wallbank.
“We took inspiration from the card, which is metallic, clean and slick and reacts with the light like an oil slick. We created tones of blue, pink and a little orange haze, which is the perfect scheme for Miami, it suited the race really well.”
With the livery plans sorted, Wallbank went to work in making the drawings a reality and delivered in time for the Miami GP, where the driver suits and pit garage reflected the special design.
That was not all. As a way of launching the livery, the team created the VCARB wash, a twist on the classic American car wash – the ‘chameleon’ car was revealed in real-time as it entered the wash spray painted by guests in attendance and exited complete with its new look.
“Miami race week is always a busy one for brands. There is a lot of noise, so it is important to cut through and make a statement, especially for a new team like Visa Cash App RB,” said Oliver Hughes, chief marketing officer at Red Bull Technology.
“The VCARB Wash was born out of a need to realise that stand-out moment while simultaneously launching the new Cash App Visa Chameleon Card. The unique event saw the car revealed in real time to guests, fans, media and content creators as it went through the classic American car wash.
“We continued to tell the story across the race weekend on track with media, through key touch points including the F1 Academy team, driver clothing, on the garage and with multiple other Partners and activations.’”
The car wash activation was open across the race weekend, offering exclusive perks for Cash App Visa Cardholders, including bespoke t-shirts, car wash gift sets, jewellery, and a cocktail bar.
“It was thrilling to see our partnership come to life and allow fans to celebrate our first stateside race as title sponsors of the team,” said Zack Ashley, Cash App global head of partnerships.
“The Cash App Card-inspired livery set the tone for the remainder of the season and allowed us to build on that creative collaboration with other key moments like our Glitter Card livery in Las Vegas.”
Andrea Fairchild, global head of sponsorship at Visa added: “As a company that supports athletes and creators, it was exciting to see how local artists and the drivers contributed to the Visa Cash App RB Chameleon livery reveal activation. This event represents the innovative spirit of our global partnership with Cash App and the team – where creativity meets performance, commerce and community.”
Off-track partner activations were also used across the weekend with HUGO, Tudor and Piquadro offering special edition products to fans.
In judging the activation, the panel were suitably impressed to include the VCARB livery in the final shortlist.
“The design by itself is eye-catching enough but the car wash reveal added another level,” said judge and Autosport business correspondent Mark Mann-Bryans.
“Incorporating a host of other partners within the activation was also a great use of a special livery launch.”
