Promotional marketers who run contests usually take pains to make sure that the entry process is as easy and frictionless as possible for their targeted prospects. So those marketers are probably pretty envious of OnStar, the in-dash communications provider, and its “PushOn” sweepstakes. To enter this contest, all U.S. and Canadian drivers have to do is push a button.
Specifically, they have to push the OnStar blue button mounted on the dashboard or under the rear-view mirror of the vehicles enabled in the U.S. with the OnStar service. That will connect them to one of the three OnStar call centers that typically provide drivers who subscribe to the OnStar service with roadside assistance, automatic crash response, and turn-by-turn navigation.
But from now through May 31, pushing that button can get U.S. entrants into OnStar’s “PushOn” sweepstakes, a drawing in which 10 winners will get to take their pick of 10 models of Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac or GMC vehicles, ranging from a Cadillac CTS-V and a Buick Regal to a Corvette ZR1. The prizes are all General Motors cars because OnStar is a subsidiary of that automaker.
Winners can all chose the same car if they wish, so that there could conceivably be 10 new ‘Vette owners when the winners are announced.
According to OnStar communications manager Adam Denison, the strategic aim is to illustrate the value of the OnStar subscription service, not only for the 6 million users who currently pay the monthly or yearly fees but for the much larger group on drivers who have OnStar in their vehicles but who don’t currently subscribe. OnStar claims that its technology is currently installed in 55 million vehicles worldwide.
While Denison could not say how many of those are currently on the road in the U.S. and Canada, odds are good that they make up a very large portion of those “dormant” users. Even though they may not currently be subscribed to an OnStar plan, pushing that button will open a hands-free connection to a customer service agent who will take their sweepstakes entry information.
“This is aimed at the large contingent of drivers who have OnStar in their vehicles but don’t know what it does and have never pushed that blue button,” he says. “The main focus of this promotion is an effort to re-engage that side of the house.”
OnStar currently offers a “Safe & Sound” plan of emergency care and collision response for $18.95 a month or $199 a year, or a premium plan that adds navigational and informational services to that level for $28.90 a month or $299 a year.
Customers who buy an OnStar-enabled car customarily get six months of free service with their purchase. Those who purchase the new Chevrolet Volt hybrid car get five years of free OnStar service.
Some of the dormant OnStar drivers are those who purchased a used GM vehicle equipped with the service but who never enrolled. When those first-time customers call in to enroll in the “PushOn” contest, they will be offered a six-month OnStar trial.
“The hope is that we can engage them at that point, and at the end of that six months’ trial they understand the safety and security features that OnStar offers and sign up for another year,’ Denison says.
Last January OnStar announced that it would make its “Blue Button” service available to non-General Motors cars and older GM models via the sale of aftermarket parts at specific retailers. Best Buy has been named as the first electronics retail partner in this effort, and starting this spring Best Buy customers will be able to purchase an OnStar rearview mirror for $299, plus installation estimated at $75 to $100 dollars.
OnStar says that over the past 15 years it has responded to 160,000 vehicle crashes, offered roadside assistance to 2.6 million subscribers, and remotely opened more than 5 million doors for drivers who locked their keys in their cars.
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