Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic

Marketing: A

Global−Managerial

Approach, 14/e

14. Promotion −
    Introduction to Integrated
    Marketing
    Communications

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

place

price

promotion

product

http://www.mhhe.com/fourps

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http://www.mhhe.com/fourps

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ct

interest. And if the design was

the bait, the interior is the

hook. It’s very flexible_with

26 different seat configura-

tions, a flat cargo area, and

easy hatchback access. The

Cruiser really came across as

something different_a “per-

sonal transportation” (PT)

vehicle unlike any other small

sedan or truck. But carefully

planned promotion leveraged

the whole PT strategy to earn

more profit than was originally

expected.

Chrysler marketers intro-

duced a concept car version

of the PT Cruiser at the 1999

Detroit Auto Show. To take

advantage of the heavy news

coverage the show generates,

they also staged a surprise

event to announce that a pro-

duction version would be

available for the 2000 model

year. Immediately, the funky

new car got free publicity in

national news media that

would have cost many mil-

lions of dollars. As the

concept car made the car

show circuit, it drew in large

crowds and interested con-

sumers registered to receive

more information. Chrysler

also ran teaser-type print ads.

The simple ads showed a pic-

ture of the Cruiser and a big

Chrysler logo. Simple copy

positioned the Cruiser as “an

antidote for the daily grind”

and listed both a toll-free

number and website for

consumers to contact.

Before the car was even

available, 225,000 people

who had asked for more infor-

mation were in the Cruiser

direct-response promotion

database. Chrysler sent these

“hand raisers” a series of

three mail brochures high-

lighting different benefits of

the Cruiser and inviting them

to visit a dealer. They were

also invited to special pre-

views to see the car in

person. For example, 10 of

these were scheduled at

major sporting events and

each attracted over 10,000

consumers in a single week-

end. People hired to staff the