"E"-Commerce [Archive] - Honda Element Owners Club Forum

SuperJETT

03-23-2004, 12:17 AM

Found this on www.charleston.net

Firms using cars to advertise and for practical reasons
BY JIM PARKER
Of The Post and Courier Staff

The past 15 years have been invigorating for Jim Thompson and T.J. Williams' business, Atlantic Respiratory Services, which has grown from a husband-and-wife venture into the largest independent company of its kind in the Carolinas, with 23 employees.

Still, Thompson, the chief executive officer, believed the business needed a breath of fresh air. A race-car sponsor who has a "passion for autos," he seized on the idea of acquiring a fleet of distinctive vehicles that also would be functional enough to carry the air tanks, monitors, aerosol inhalers and other supplies that the company delivered to homebound patients.

"We looked at PT Cruisers but wanted something different," he said.

Then one day early this year, Thompson saw a TV spot for the new Honda Element. The ad, geared to Gen-Xers, played off the vehicle's unusually boxy look, its cavernous interior, clam-shell rear doors and rear seats that fold flat to the floor. The sport-utility vehicles were priced at a reasonable $24,000 fully loaded.

This was it. Atlantic Respiratory Services bought nine dark-colored SUVs -- six from Stokes Honda and three from Rick Hendrick -- then set to work creating a brand image. Thompson's doodles led to the yellow-winged "Air Patrol" logo, based on the medical seal. The Hondas are lined up every morning and evening in front of the company headquarters, which just happen to be quite visible from the Mark Clark Expressway west of the Ashley. (The business also has Elements at its satellites in Walterboro and Georgetown).

"Honda builds a great vehicle. It's very economical with fuel," he said. At the same time, "I wanted them to be very visible," Thompson said.

He didn't spare any expense on extras. The Hondas include a top-of-the-line audio system so drivers can enjoy their time on the road, which can be hundreds of miles and several hours a day. Meanwhile, Thompson installed a Global Positioning System so he can track each vehicle by computer. This way, he knows each driver's location at all times, so he can contact them easily and check quickly if there are complaints about drivers.

Atlantic Respiratory Services has gone as far as any to buy practical vehicles that at the same time stand out as promotional cars and trucks. But a number of Charleston-area businesses these days are combining the marketing benefits of an "ad on wheels" with the bottom-line perks of autos that are fuel efficient or hold plenty of supplies.

Rob and Laurie Kramer started Wholly Cow Ice Creams and Coffee Beans 19 years ago on Hilton Head Island, moving the headquarters to Ravenel in 1995. The venture, which sells ice cream and coffee in Piggly Wigglys, Super Wal-Marts and Earth Fare groceries as well as its own stores in coastal South Carolina, has grown from less than $100,000 in sales in the first year to more than $3 million today.

But the company's name recognition jumped in the past two years, when the Kramers bought a pair of white Volkswagen Beetles and covered them with black spots, cow caricatures and the company name.

"We've been sitting in traffic downtown, and someone will get out of their car and take a picture and get back in or pull off to the side of the road and say how much they like the (Wholly Cow) ice cream," Rob Kramer said. "It's supposed to be fun, not controversial," he said. "It's so '60s."

The couple picked Volkswagens, which retail new for $17,000, for their sporty looks and, admittedly, "cow-like" appearance. The logos cost about $1,000 apiece.

Rob Kramer said the couple considered other models but crossed them out for various reasons. The Mini, for instance, looked "too macho," the PT Cruiser "too menacing."

They never expected the Volkswagens to be more than promotional vehicles. But they stumbled onto at least one utilitarian advantage. The VWs tow the 175-pound ice cream freezer, which looks more appropriate trailing a Bug as opposed to a full-scale truck, for instance.

The Kramers' routine maintenance work includes keeping the cars clean.

"We wash them (at least) four times a week, and sometimes as much as two or three times a day," he said. "They have to represent us."

Kate Cooper, too, is cognizant of the responsibility of driving a car with advertising on it. That's why she is extra careful motoring the red Mini Cooper S with a Union Jack etched on the roof and the name, address and phone number of her Mount Pleasant business, The British Shop, tagged on the side doors.

The small grocery, specializing in English chocolates, teas and foodstuffs such as haggis and a smattering of toys, silverware and clothing, is located on the short Scott Street and is not easy to find without knowing where to go.

The Mini Cooper has helped immeasurably, she said.

Still, while many business owners buy a promotional car and also drive it for personal use, Cooper did the opposite.

"When I got the car, I wasn't going to use it (for ads)," she said. Instead, it was to replace her Land Rover Discovery. The advertising recommendation came from "my husband (Charleston Battery general manager Nigel Cooper)."

She's grateful. "It's worked," she said.