Lincoln, Rivals Rev Up Pitches For Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles - Lincoln-Mercury Division's marketing strategy for selling previously leased cars - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

Brandweek,  May 7, 2001  by Karl Greenberg

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Lincoln Mercury in June launches a print and TV pitch for its Lincoln Premier Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) cars, joining rivals who are also trying to turnover a massive pool of formerly leased vehicles hitting the market.

The campaign, which begins June 1, will initially focus on Lincoln luxury vehicles Continental and Town Car, now coming off 2- and 3-year factory leasing, according to Andy McKinnon, Lincoln's manager of fleet, lease and remarketing.

Creative, via Young & Rubicam, Irvine, Calif., takes its cue from the recent best-seller The Millionaire Next Door. The book, based on case studies of those with a net worth of $1 million-plus, reveals people who tend to be frugal shoppers and wise investors preferring sales and bargains over expensive trends and fashion plates.

Sherry Pollack, group creative director at the agency, said the campaign comprises two 30-second TV spots and a related print campaign, all with a "day in the life" documentary feel, mimicking the book. One of the spots, "Hamptons," opens with a man driving a late-model Lincoln to estate sales in a posh area. The spot lampoons the setting (espresso machines and English saddles) while lionizing the driver's thrift.

A spot for Lincoln Premier CPO shows a couple in their 50s arriving at a sale at an upscale department store. "Waste not, want not," and "The only people designer dresses ever make rich are the designers," read headlines. Another states, "Millionaires tend to buy cars with a few years on them. But isn't that how they tend to buy scotch?"

McKinnon said the campaign will run in two tactical phases, based on CPO supply. The first will focus on Town Car and Continental. "After that the campaign will reflect Navigator and LS inventory," he said, adding that Mercury may join the fray later this year or next. "It's a broad corporate campaign, rather than a dealer initiative," he said, without divulging cost.

The CPO trend is building steam among automakers because of a flood of vehicles coming off lease this year.

As recently as 1990, consumers leased only 574,000 vehicles (7.3% of new vehicles), but in 1997 consumer leases rose to 3.3 million (30.6%).

The National Automobile Dealers Association said new car dealers sold 20.1 million used vehicles in 2000.

While luxury brands started the CPO idea in 1996, programs have expanded into mass market vehicles like Ford and Nissan.

Diane Swonk, chief analyst at Bank One, Chicago, said the volume of pre-owned vehicles coming off lease will keep pre-owned prices low. "Yes, we have just come off of peak levels, and new sales are still very strong," she said. "While new vehicle sales will likely decline in May and June, coming off of a record first quarter, that doesn't mean the market will improve for pre-owned vehicles."

Auto marketing consultant Wesley Brown of NexTrend, Thousand Oaks, Calif., said the large supply of pre-owned cars gives some urgency to the automakers' pitches.

"I think what we have seen with leasing is the phenomenon of vehicles that are two, three and four years old that are in relatively good condition with fairly low mileage," he said, noting that rivals are following luxury brands like BMW that launched CPO programs three or four years ago.

Mike Dennis, Ford's manager for used vehicle certification which launched its own program in January agreed that there's pressure to get into the pre-owned market. "Virtually every other manufacturer has some sort of viable certified program. We haven't had one."

BMW which started its program in 1996, launched regional TV advertising last week, via Publicis, New York, with a "Wish Granted" theme that promised a BMW to those who thought it would never be possible.

COPYRIGHT 2001 BPI Communications, Inc.
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