Cross has been reaping rewards from its diverse social media strategy and US event sponsorships via some high profile celebrity endorsements for its Limited Edition Peerless 125 pen, including soul singer CeeLo Green and The Big Bang Theory actress, Mayim Bialik.

The leading writing instrument brand – reported by TRBusiness last month to be exponentially increasing its investment in travel retail through 2015 – was publicised to 1,280,000 social media followers 13 January when Mayim Bialik (pictured below) posted a picture of herself on Facebook with her Cross Peerless 125.

The 23 carat gold plated luxury fountain pen features a real ruby jewel in the crown and has an RRP of $US 3,900 (£2,581).

Singer CeeLo Green and rapper 50 Cent have also been photographed with the same pen and are expected to post similar images to their combined 8 million social media followers over the coming weeks.

The celebrity endorsements coincide with the launch at Cross.com of ‘The Peerless 125’ contest in the US.

To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Peerless Collection, the brand is seeking 125 people who most embody the definition of being peerless: ‘individuals defined by their actions and by their hearts; continuously giving and accomplishing greatness.’

Designed to encourage nominees to reach out to their social media followers for votes, the contest is intended to drive traffic to the brand site and increase awareness for Peerless products. Nominees with the most votes at midnight 7 March 2015 will win a Limited Edition Peerless 125 Fountain Pen.

In terms of sponsorships, Cross has been similarly proactive, taking centre stage at the ‘Harvard – Yale Rivalry on Ice’ hockey game at Madison Square Garden in January, in front of 15,000 alumni.

Broadcast on NBC Sports, Cross featured via billboards and on-ice interviews and also sponsored the ‘Signature Player of the Game’ prize.

The company reports that the exercise generated a total of 181 million impressions overall, including coverage on CNBC, Fox Business and The New York Times.

Further high profile sponsorships in the offing include the Creative Coalitions ‘Teachers Making a Difference’ luncheon at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City Utah, and the ‘Primary Wave’ Grammy’s party in West Hollywood.