Rental-car industry has become powerful marketing tool
Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) on the growing role of the rental-car market for product marketing. How long before consumer product companies do the same? "Your midsize car with a Coke is now ready in space #56" or something to that effect....
...The rental-car industry has become a powerful marketing tool for new automotive technologies and new cars themselves (though in some cases car makers still use rental agencies to dispose of slow-selling vehicles). And the marketing has proven equally advantageous for rental operators, who often negotiate for exclusive rights to offer new cars and products first.
Experts say rental cars are a perfect test-drive for potential buyers. They say that after driving a rental car for a few days, customers can end up buying a car and accessories they wouldn't ordinarily consider.
...For Thales Navigation Corp., a closely held Santa Clara, Calif., company that makes the NeverLost system, being in the Hertz fleet has been the prime driver of sales of units that average $1,800 each.
A recent J.D. Power & Associates study of 6,000 car buyers who bought navigation systems found almost one-third had prior exposure to them, with more than half saying they got that experience in a rental car. Thales said it sells about 7,000 units a year -- with no advertising -- because about 80% of its customers try its systems in rental cars.