Avis Brings Music to Drivers’ Ears: Cendant VP Janis Jarosz
Avis Rent A Car System is driving consumers to a new incentive program it launched this month that focuses on entertainment versus a traditional marketing strategy. Janis Jarosz, VP-market development Cendant Car Rental Group, spoke with PROMO P&I about the Avis Music Giveaway— offers five free iTunes music downloads with every one-day to four-day rental booked online, and 10 music downloads for rentals five days or longer— how the program fits within the company’s overall strategy. The promotion, available at Avis.com, runs through June 30.
PROMO P&I: Other brands have latched on to digital music as premiums. Why is this a good fit for Avis?
JAROSZ: One of America’s favorite pastimes is driving in the car and listening to music. This really invokes a lot of emotion. There’s a coolness associated with iTunes. By focusing on iTunes…it ties into the whole car enjoyment experience.
PROMO P&I: What audience is Avis targeting with the promotion?
JAROSZ: We are renting to people…21 and up, anyone who can rent a car. This just reinforced our welcoming of younger people. No matter who you talk to, iTunes brings a smile to people’s faces. People get excited about it.
PROMO P&I: How does this latest incentive compare to the competition?
JAROSZ: The program is meant to keep us ahead of the competition, to try to take the affinity people feel with iPod and iTunes and influence brand preference to us. We’re happy we are our first. Thousands signed up within the first weekend, with no advertising at that time.
PROMO P&I: What other types of incentive programs have Avis offered?
JAROSZ: Other incentives include a weekend promotion, if you rent for one week, you get a free weekend. [That runs through June 25]. In the past, we’ve done try free [offers] — rent anytime between September and December with three rentals and get a free weekend. Customers responded so well. You can also earn airline miles and American Express Membership Rewards from Avis. For our overall strategy, we don’t have ongoing incentives. We do incentives we think will really resonate with people.
PROMO P&I: How does this incentive fit within Avis’ overall marketing strategy?
JAROSZ: Over the past year and half, we have put a focus on enjoyment. It’s the whole [experience] of having fun in the car. Our overall brand strategies are to reinforce Avis’ premium position. We’re also trying to drive rentals by leveraging high value incentives. This is another way of doing that. We’re always looking for Avis to identify new consumer segments who show a propensity to rent cars. The iTunes devotee is a good opportunity to leverage that [positioning] and get them to rent from us. We’re just out there testing to see what resonates well with people. Avis will never be the cheapest car rental. It will always be [about] providing added value.
