Wild dealer promotions pull in potential buyers
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| Josh the monkey stars in a New Jersey dealership's safari sale. Greg Stiles drummed up sales for a Pennsylvania dealership by sitting in a Chevrolet Aveo suspended from an eight-story crane. |
Automotive News
January 31 , 2005
One Saturday each year, the Franklin Sussex Auto Mall looks more like a wild-animal theme park than a showroom.
Kangaroos, camels and snakes invade the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealership in Sussex, N.J. Salespeople don pith helmets and khaki outfits. Last year a monkey named Josh drew the winning entry for a five-day trip to Disney World's Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Fla.
The pseudo safari is among the wacky events that dealerships are staging to create buzz and attract buyers. Other examples include two-for-one sales, endurance contests that award vehicles to people who keep their hands on them longest, and giveaways that send customers to the local mall.
As consumers appear to have grown jaded even by generous sales incentives, the attention-grabbing gimmicks assume increasing importance, dealers and automakers agree.
"In today's competitive environment, you've got to be outside of the box with your thinking," says Justin Byrd, a team leader of the Chrysler group's Five Star program, which recognizes dealers for excellent customer service.
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| Josh the monkey stars in a New Jersey dealership's safari sale ... |
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| ... as does a big snake and his handler. |
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| Ellen Lenbeck, center, won a Nissan Titan in last year's "Hands on a Hardbody" endurance contest at a Texas dealership. |
"We support the efforts of dealers doing promotional events, provided the right intent is there," Byrd says. "It makes them a good citizen within the marketplace."
Franklin Sussex's annual Safari Sale, which costs the dealership $15,000, attracts about 1,000 visitors who get free food and drinks. That's 10 times the number of people who come to the dealership on most Saturdays, says General Manager Bill Snouffer.
In 2003 and 2004, Franklin Sussex sold more than 25 vehicles on its safari Saturdays. The store typically sells 20 vehicles most other Saturdays, Snouffer concedes.
But the importance of the event goes beyond the handful of additional sales."It's more the residual business that we get from branding my dealership in the community in the right way," says Snouffer.
Endurance test
Some dealership promotions attract attention far outside the store's market area.
Patterson Nissan in Longview, Texas, has hosted a contest called "Hands on a Hardbody" nearly every year since 1992. Other dealerships have picked up the idea.
Hands on a Hardbody is a test of endurance. Two dozen people stand with one hand on a Nissan truck. The person who keeps his or her hand on the truck the longest wins the vehicle. Contestants get 5-minute breaks every hour and 15-minute breaks every eight hours.
Last year's participants included a local TV reporter and two entrants from Japan. The contest lasted 5 days, 1 hour, 58 minutes. The first-place winner went home with a Nissan Titan King Cab and a pop-up camper, with a combined retail price of $32,780.
Patterson Nissan broadcasts the event live on a Web site. During last year's contest, the site got 7.6 million hits from Internet users in 22 countries, says the dealership's marketing director, Jan Maynard
The dealership spends "a small fortune" on the contest, Maynard says. Advertising expenses alone amount to nearly $45,000. But the investment is worth it, she adds, since the event has gotten exposure for the store on national TV.
Patterson Nissan sells about 35 vehicles the week of the contest, which Maynard says is a "fairly average week" for the dealership. During the week of the contest, the evening crowd at the store can be as large as 2,000 people, she adds.
"It's more of a long-term effect," she says. "Down the road, people just end up coming back and buying cars."
Hanging around
Greg Stiles, general manager of Ken Pollock Chevrolet, in Pittston, Pa., knows hype can generate sales.
Stiles spent an afternoon last September sitting inside a Chevrolet Aveo that was hanging from an eight-story crane near his showroom to draw customers during a live radio broadcast.
"It doesn't look that high until you're sitting in the car and the wind kicks up and starts moving you around," Stiles says. "It really did help sell cars that day."
Pollock Chevrolet sold about 18 vehicles while he was in the air, Stiles says. On a typical day, the dealership sells four vehicles.
Some dealerships have staged buy-one, get-one-free sales. Last year, Nissan 46 in Totowa, N.J., offered customers this deal: Buy a new Nissan off the showroom floor at the sticker price and get a late-model used Nissan Sentra still under warranty. The used cars had a retail value of about $11,000 apiece.
Nissan North America Inc. discourages two-for-one sales, says Mark McNabb, Nissan division's general manager. But he concedes the company can't stop dealers from staging such promotions.
Zany, not cheesy
Automakers approve of dealership stunts provided they don't cheapen the brand name, says Ken Wechfelberger, general director of local area marketing for General Motors.
"We hope our dealers come up with unique, exclusive promotions as long as they're not detrimental to the brand," Wechfelberger says. "I'm hoping they're taking some of the ideas and sharing them with other dealers."
There are no rules against "zany," he adds.
Some dealers involve other local businesses in their sales promotions. NuCar Connection, which sells Chevrolet, Hummer, Kia and Mazda vehicles at three dealerships in New Castle and Middletown, Del., hosted a shopping spree for 100 customers this month.The dealership gave the randomly selected customers $150 gift certificates at a local mall.
The event cost the dealership about $18,000, says Brian Farina, who runs NuCar's customer loyalty program.
Says Farina of the shopping spree: "Every customer that was there is a customer for life."
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