Industry Market Expansion Campaign Underway

It is a proud day for the RV industry.

At long last the industry's national market expansion effort through national advertising in a broad cross-section of media has blossomed into reality. The ads are targeted at the baby boomer family market -- identified by Lou Harris and the University of Michigan as top prospects crucial to the future of the industry. According to Gary LaBella, RVIA's vice president of public relations, the campaign has the potential to reach 672 million boomers with children and above average incomes, with a toll-free number to call for a free video and lists of participating dealers and campgrounds.

LaBella said, "Manufacturers who encourage their dealers to coordinate local advertising and marketing with the national campaign stand to gain the most from it."

In recapping the campaign LaBella said, for immediate impact, the campaign will begin with a six-week national TV blitz. It started Monday, February 17, with three 30-second television spots airing on ABC's Good Morning America, ABC's Good Morning America Sunday and ABC's World News This Morning. Then on February 19, the spots started running on NBC's Today Show and NBC's Saturday Today. LaBella said, "A total of 37 airings on these national morning shows will deliver an audience of approximately 66 million viewers in our target market of adults aged 30-49 with children, some college and a household income of $35,000-plus."

Also in the television campaign, an extensive cable television effort is underway. LaBella continued, "Also starting in mid-February, 13 weeks of mostly prime time and weekend national cable exposure will deliver an estimated 596 million viewers of the following top networks in our target demographic: Arts & Entertainment (A&E), Discovery, The Family Channel, CNN Headline News, The Learning Channel, Nickelodeon's Nick at Nite, TNT, and The Weather Channel

"It's not possible to say exactly what time to watch because, in order to maximize exposure for the dollar, our cable ad time has been purchased at a more economic rate which allows the network booking flexibility within selected weeks and times of day."

There will be a total of 1,430 airings on cable between February and June.

Augmenting the television ads will be an impressive schedule of print media advertising as well. Three national consumer magazines were selected to provide strong reach of target, especially in non-cable households, and value-added programs to drive prospects into participating dealerships. Five two-page-spread print advertisements will appear in rotation in these magazines (total readership: 10.2 million boomer prospects):

The ads are also running courtesy of TL Enterprises, Woodall's, KOA and Thousand Trails/ NACO in major RV consumer publications and directories, providing bonus exposure among current RV owners.

Dealer Campaign Update

Driving first-time buyer prospects into RV dealerships is the immediate goal of the national ad campaign. To ensure that dealers are ready for them and to enable dealers to tie into the national theme in their local advertising, Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association (RVDA) is spearheading the drive to sign up "Go RVing" dealers nationwide.

Go RVing dealers simply must pledge to make a special effort to welcome prospective new buyers resulting from the ads and take the time to explain the benefits of RV travel to them.

There is no charge to become a Go RVing dealer, and the names and locations of dealers who sign the pledge will be sent to ad respondents in the three states they select. LaBella said, "To date, 790 dealers have signed up as Go RVing dealers -- a good start, but not as many as we would prefer to meet the needs of a significant influx of new buyers nationwide."

To further enhance dealer tie-ins the Go RVing coalition has made available to dealers, for $125, a special promotional material package to use in their local markets tied to the national theme: "Recreation Vehicles. Wherever You Go, You're Always at Home.,,," The package includes posters of the national ads for showroom display, ad slicks featuring the campaign theme, a copy of the "getting started" video for in-store showings and first-time buyer seminars, and a mailing list of consumer leads generated from the ads. Participating dealers also become a registration center for a national RV sweepstakes being sponsored by Good Housekeeping magazine in conjunction with the campaign. Customized local TV and radio spots are available for an additional charge.

Go RVing Coalition Forbids Freelance Use of Ad Materials including Slogan

LaBella said, "Since the unveiling of the ad campaign at the Louisville show, industry enthusiasm has been running high, and we have fielded dozens of inquiries about how individual members can tie in. Since everyone is contributing to funding the campaign, fairness is the overriding concern, along with preserving the effectiveness of the advertisements. For these reasons, in consultation with the Eisner agency which created the campaign, we have developed these guidelines for use of the campaign materials by individual companies.

* The national slogan, "Recreation Vehicles. Wherever You Go, You're Always at Home . . . " may not be used or modified in individual company advertising.

* Still photography and video footage shot for the campaign is not available for advertising or promotional use by individual members.

"These guidelines are necessary in order to ensure that the campaign ads and slogan are always seen by the consumer in the same, controlled, high-quality context. They are also intended to protect the mutual interest of all members in the campaign. Since there is no reasonable method to ensure evenhanded use of the slogan and materials by all members, we are controlling their use for the benefit of all.

"Let me reemphasize that while individual company use of the ads is prohibited, use by dealers and show promoters on the local level is strongly encouraged. The end result should prove to be more sales for all members."

The consumer leads being provided to Go RVing dealers who purchase the promotion kit are also available to individual manufacturers for marketing application. Labels may be ordered at a cost of $100 per thousand, sorted by state, by zip code or by owner/non-owner.

Campaign Effectiveness Survey Underway

A phone survey of 2,200 consumers who match target demographics - including 600 subscribers to the magazines in which the ads are running - - is soon to be completed in order to provide a pre-campaign snapshot of the level of RV ad awareness, attitudes and purchase intentions in the target market. SIR Marketing and Opinion Research of Richmond, VA, is performing this survey as the benchmark for a comparative assessment next July, after all the 1997 ads have appeared. LaBella added, "We will also be carefully tracking calls to the Go RVing 888 number as a preliminary impact indicator."