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When
National Rental Month (NRM) 2001 kicks off on April 1,
it will be far more than a month-long promotion of the
rental industry. It will mark the beginning of a new
relationship between the American Rental Association and
its members.
For
the first time, A.R.A. will become an active partner
with its members by generating business leads. Because
of A.R.A., consumers will make the phones ring in
members’ stores.
What’s
more, A.R.A.’s new Web site for consumers will help
generate even more business leads with some powerful new
services.
Best
of all, these new business-generating services will cost
paid-up members — general members and branch members
alike — nothing beyond the annual membership fee for
their store.
NRM itself emphasizes the theme, “You dream it! We’ll
help you get it done.” It combines national media
exposure of the rental message with support for
promotions that members, singly or in groups, use to
kick-start their spring rental season.
While
the national campaign will reinforce the “dream it”
theme, every message will carry two new pieces of
information — the phone number (866) 2RENTsmart
(273-6876) and the address of A.R.A.’s new consumer
Web site, www.2RENTsmart.com.
Either
of these new connections can lead consumers straight to
an A.R.A. member’s rental store. They take advantage
of current technology to provide an objective new source
of business leads to augment members’ existing
advertising programs. And they are included, free, as
benefits of general membership or branch membership.
When
consumers begin seeing the A.R.A. TV commercials during
NRM, they also will see the new North America-wide
toll-free consumer phone number, (866) 2RENTsmart. When
they call that number, they will be switched
automatically to the nearest A.R.A.-member store. For
full details, see “Celebrate National Rental Month”
in the February 2001 issue of RM.
In
preparation for the launch of this new system, A.R.A.
staff has improved operations of the Web-site
store-locator service, www.2RENTsmart.com
, making it easier for consumers to use. Previously, a
consumer might need to see five Web site pages to get a
list of the nearest A.R.A. member stores —now it takes
just one page. In addition, city and state, or
zip/postal code, is entered in one box, rather than a
separate box for each item.
Another
improvement is the ability, by clicking on “Find
Specific Products,” to create a shopping list of up to
five types of equipment before asking for the list of
stores that carry them. The consumer can still ask for
“Any Rental Store” or stores that specialize in “Construction/Industrial,”
“General Tool/Homeowner” or “Party/Event”
rentals.
Regardless
of which route the consumer takes, when the store list
appears, it will include the store name, city, state and
distance to the store. When using the “shopping list”
feature, it also shows the items that may be found at
each store.
When
the consumer selects a store from the list, he will see
a Home Page for that store. This new service gives the
A.R.A. member the flexibility to customize his store’s
unique page. Standard information, supplied directly
from the A.R.A. database, includes store name, address,
phone and fax numbers, Web site and e-mail addresses.
Custom features may include a store photo, hours of
operation, delivery policy and a brief promotional
message.
To
customize the page, a member logs onto www.ararental.org
and selects “Just for Members,” to find a mockup of
that member’s store’s home page. Changes can be made
by following the prompts, including uploading a store
photo. The process is similar to that for updating
membership information online.
Members
also may receive e-mailed equipment reservation requests
through the Web-based store-locator service. If A.R.A.
has a member’s e-mail address, consumers can send
e-mails directly to that member from page 2 of the Home
Page. The consumer can check a box by each product in
the store’s inventory that he wants, and the date he
wants it. A memo area will be provided for more
information. This message will automatically carry the
sender’s e-mail address, and, as an option, his phone
number. Each lead generated through this system will be
identified as coming from the A.R.A. rental store
locator.
Two
updated products are on their way to all A.R.A. members
in the United States and Canada to help them promote
themselves during National Rental Month in April.
In
mid-February, members were scheduled to receive a new
“Promotion Resource Guide.” This guide contains
scripts for radio commercials, print ad slicks, advice
for working with the local press, pointers for obtaining
a mayoral proclamation and a sample news release.
A
month later, they will receive an in-store merchandising
kit. Its contents are based on the results of a fax
survey of the membership conducted immediately after NRM
2000. The basic kits contain a newly designed
6-by-3-foot indoor/outdoor banner, a counter card and a
static window cling, each proclaiming National Rental
Month. Members may order extras of any of these items,
and an optional magnetic 24-by-12 inch truck door sign.
In
addition to these direct services to members, A.R.A.
also supplied a complete rundown on NRM information to
presidents of all local, state and provincial
associations, for them to present at meetings in
February and March.
Two
new television spots are being produced for NRM — one
promoting homeowner/do-it-yourself rentals and one
promoting party/event rentals. The new commercials
reinforce the theme, “You dream it! We’ll help you
get it done.” They have been tested by focus groups of
consumers in the U.S. and Canada who have been rental
store customers.
Members
may view the new commercials during the A.R.A. annual
convention in Orlando, Fla., at the advertising section
of the A.R.A. Products and Services booth, which will be
staffed by personnel from Zimmerman, Laurent &
Richardson (ZLR), A.R.A.’s advertising agency. Members
may buy the new spots for broadcast in their local
markets.
Nationally,
A.R.A.’s broadcast schedule for the new spots will
include Discovery Channel — Home Matters, Your New
House and Lynette Jennings; The Learning Channel —
Wedding Story, Hands On and Home Again; Home and Garden
Television (HGTV) — Designer’s Landscape, Rebecca’s
Garden, Our Place, Smart Solutions, Home Building
Digest, Landscape Smart, New Yankee Workshop and
Springtime.
The
A.R.A. spot also will appear on Celebrations, a one-time
special on how to have seasonal events and parties. As
part of the buy on that cable network, banner ads will
run on HGTV’s gardening and landscaping Web pages.
The
Weather Channel will feature a few key placements on the
program Your Weather Today rather than a “run-of-station”
schedule as in previous years.
The
spots also will run on the nationally syndicated Martha
Stewart Living, which is broadcast on a variety of
channels in local markets.
To
reinforce the national advertising campaign, a public
relations program will be carried out to increase public
awareness of rental in general and NRM specifically. ZLR’s
public relations department is contacting scores of
magazines, newspapers, television and radio stations
with ideas for articles. The agency is preparing a news
release for distribution to all consumer media
nationwide, announcing the second annual National Rental
Month. An article informing consumers of “dollars-and-sense”
reasons to rent is being developed for dissemination to
the consumer print media. A similar release will be made
to radio stations nationwide with the added dimension of
recorded “sound bites” of rental professionals
talking about the advantages of renting.
Members
who attend A.R.A.’s convention in Orlando can preview
all the NRM materials, place orders for additional
materials and discuss ideas for how they would like to
observe National Rental Month in April at the A.R.A.
Products and Services booth. |
