Most consumers that would do some shopping in an f.y.e. store would have the surprise of their lives once they see an ad for the new Jeep Wrangler.
It was only very recently that Chrysler maker of top-of-the-line Jeep park light launched its aggressive ad campaign for its newly redesigned Jeep Wrangler. And one of the components of the campaign was a promotional partnership with retailer Trans World Entertainment that delivered over 17.8 million impressions to various target audience of Jeep.
Trans World operates under the banner f.y.e. which is short for “For Your Entertainment”. The Trans World has 800 stores and f.y.e. is the largest specialty retailer in the country when it comes to the entertainment category which includes selling movies, music, games, and even small electronics.
The f.y.e. promotion has been very important for the whole promotional effort of Jeep since customers of the said store are comprised of young men with age ranging from 18 to 34, the very same demographic coveted by Jeep for its Wrangler.
The heart of the f.y.e. promotion is a contest in which customers are given a chance to scan the barcode on an entry in order to win a new Jeep Wrangler. The contest was a fully integrated promotion that includes an in-store signage, store associates in Jeep tee shirts, Jeep ads on f.y.e. in-store TV, Wrangler presence on the f.y.e. web site, a Jeep integrated into the fuse TV show “Amplified Guide to the Holidays”, Jeep integration with the retailer’s e-marketing communications, a Jeep Wrangler tag on f.y.e.’s national radio spots, and a special “scan to win booklet” with a Wrangler ad distributed in the stores.
The f.ye. promotion was an exciting non-traditional way for Jeep of reaching its potential customers however so far the most exciting and the most unique part of the promotion were the custom ads showcased at the f.y.e.’s listening and viewing stations (LVS).
The LVS is unique to f.y.e. stores. The listening and viewing stations have LCD screens placed around the store at eye level and allow customers to scan the bar code of a CD, DVD or game plus get the chance to sample the contents. The LVS is installed in the f.y.e. stores five years ago and are now in their third generation.
There are two ways on how customers can view the Jeep ads at the LVS stations. First is when they got the entry booklets in the stores with a barcode printed on the back page. They can use this to scan and see whether they won the Wrangler. The second way of viewing an ad is by scanning a product at the LVS stations.
At this time and age where DVRs, satellite radio, etc. reigns the ability to deliver ads through such technology becomes a vital part of any promotional endeavors. Although some may consider such way of marketing as intrusive to customer’s shopping experience but according to Burmaster so far they have not received any complaints about the ads. This may be because f.y.e. is also employing restraint when it comes to the ads making them less of an intrusion and become more of a regular part of the whole product scanning procedure that their customers are accustomed to.
The Jeep ad is shown the first time that customers scanned products and would not appear on succeeding scans. The ads were also made short and took 10 to 15 seconds only. The ads were very entertaining and engaging that Burmaster said that customers are not annoyed watching them. “Our stores are all about entertainment so if the spot is not entertaining it simply will not work as well and might even meet with consumer resistance,” explained Burmaster.
So far, Jeep’s f.y.e. campaign is successful in reaching the youth market and according to Burmaster, they have just scratched the surface in terms of their ability to deliver personalized ads in-store.