Mitsubishi Pouring Incentives by the Tankful
Karl Greenberg
www.brandweek.com
NEW YORK -- Mitsubishi is launching a one-month customer incentive that offers a twist on 'liquid assets.'
The program, “Gas comes Standard,” which is not a play on Chrysler's divisional tagline “Inspiration comes standard” (though the same global agency did the work), dangles a year's worth of free gasoline to buyers of 2005 model-year Mitsubishi vehicles.
The effort, via BBDO, LA, attacking both high-cost gasoline as well as traditional incentives, runs through the end of October.
After purchasing a new 2005 model-year Mitsubishi vehicle, the customer will receive in the mail pre-paid debit cards, totaling from $1,500 to $2,500, depending on the vehicle. The cards then can be used for gasoline at most major oil companies' retail locations.
EVP of sales and marketing Dave Schembri said the offer says as much about gas prices as incentives. “We wanted to offer consumers something that is not only clearly valuable but also very relevant,” he said.
He said ads will use an icon in the shape of a gasoline pump, bearing the Mitsubishi brand symbol: a red triple diamond. TV will also show running footage of 2005 vehicles, and there will also be a full-page ad in Friday's USA Today, and Monday in sports sections. “We will have ads for national, dealer group and dealer level,” said Schembri.
So far this year, the company, still staggering after a horrific fall in 2004, has seen sales drop 29.5% through August, though thanks to the new Eclipse, August sales are only off 1.6% versus August 2004. But in that month last year, sales were off 57.5%.
Article Source:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/news/rec..._id=1001178992
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Deal fuels interest in Mitsubishi
Edward Lapham
Automotive News / September 26, 2005
For everyone who wondered what kind of incentive would be the next big thing, Mitsubishi’s Dave Schembri knew the “Gas Comes Standard” promotion was a winner when he had to let auto dealers start the program a day early on Thursday, Sept. 22.
That's because customers found out about the promotion and began lining up outside dealerships before they opened.
Considering everything that’s happened in the last couple of years, it must have been surreal for some Mitsubishi dealers to a have a crowd of customers, let alone a friendly crowd who wanted to buy something and wasn’t there just to throw bricks and complain about being upside down on their loans.
https://www.autonews.com/buyArchives.cms?newsId=13417
