Revive Your Ride! aims to boost business

Dealers generate store traffic via free promotion

“We need to get people excited about two-wheeling again and get them into the dealerships.”

That’s the two-fold aim behind the Revive Your Ride! promotional campaign, according to Cam Arnold, vice president, aftermarket, for the Motorcycle Industry Council.

Sponsored by the MIC’s aftermarket members, Revive Your Ride! is a simple sweepstakes with a twist. Customers are eligible to win a $10,000, $2,500, or $1,000 debit card to spend on their favorite pastime — but to enter, they need the help of their local, participating dealer. The dealer provides the entry code — usually handed to the customer on a card. Customers use that unique dealer code to register for the prize online. Then the three winners are picked at random from the pool of entries.

“It’s so simple,” Arnold says. “It’s also a way to promote without any brand or any particular products. It’s a way to support the whole industry. And it’s completely free — no strings attached.”

Dealerships sign up online at mic.org/reviveyourride. They receive: 1) their unique entry code to pass along to customers; 2) two promotional posters by mail; and 3) access to downloadable digital flyers, post cards, logos, banner ads and more. The promotion began Oct. 15 and continues through the end of the year. Winners will be notified on or after Jan. 17, 2012.

This fall’s campaign is the third Revive Your Ride! promotion and, according to Arnold, registrations for the MIC-backed event are up.
“Once dealers try it, they like it,” she said.

The MIC added incentives for participating dealers. The first 300 dealers to register were entered in a contest to win a targeted direct marketing list specific to their trade area. And all participating dealers have the chance to win one of two weekend prize packages to the 2012 Dealer Expo in Indianapolis. That package includes a $500 travel voucher and three-night hotel stay as well as food and other extras.

One of the strengths of the campaign, according to Arnold, is that “dealers can do anything they want with it.” On its website, the MIC offers dozens of ideas for promotional events to correspond with Revive Your Ride!, from free seminars for women to fashion shows to a motorcycle makeover contest. Or dealers can incorporate Revive Your Ride! into existing promotions.

West Hills Honda in Moon Township, Pa., has participated in all three Revive Your Ride! campaigns. Controller Kim Love says the best thing about the promotion is that, “It’s an excuse to be in touch with customers.”

West Hills Honda spread word of the contest by email, and when the dealership had a winner last August, they shared that news by email again. The dealership has also made an effort to time its yearly events around the Revive Your Ride! spring and fall campaigns. And Love has noticed that interest is growing. By the second contest, some customers were coming into the dealership to ask for the entry code.

Love says it’s “very surprising” how few dealerships in her area have signed up, especially since winners are required to spend their prize money at participating dealerships.

“So when our customers win, we win, too,” Love said.

Love said that some customers were reluctant to supply their email addresses on the Revive Your Ride! website, a requirement for entering the contest. That turned out to be a moot concern, however. The MIC does not share or sell those email addresses except upon request to the dealer who was designated on the entry.

Phil Sudduth owns a small dealership called California Phil’s in Concordia, Kansas. He’s had both a $10,000 winner and a $2,500 winner come from his store. He advertised the promotion on his marquis and in the local newspaper, and while he can’t say for certain whether the Revive Your Ride! promotion increased foot traffic, he definitely saw a reward in customer satisfaction.

“It’s just a feel-good promotion,” he said. “The cost outlay is so low. It’s just crazy that not every dealer in the country is participating.”

Sudduth did have one tip for making the most of the program. Don’t just hand customers the card with the code, he says. He makes a short pitch with every transaction.

“I stress what a good program it is. It’s not a gimmick. Your chances are not 40 million to one.”

Bud Horner, owner of Horner Honda in Salisbury, Md., has had two winners come from his store, one earning a $1,500 gift card. He advertised Revive Your Ride! on his website and electronic signage, and his staff passed out cards at a monthly summer event.

“It’s a reason for people to come in. It gives customers a positive feeling toward us,” he said.

He also says the price can’t be beat. “I do a lot of worse things for way more money.”

Indiana dealer wins Polk prize
Kurt Hayden of Hayden Honda in Indiana is getting a customized, direct marketing list using the Polk Motorcycle Garage Predictor tool, thanks to the Motorcycle Industry Council. Hayden was named the winner of the prize after being one of the first 300 dealers to register for the Revive Your Ride! Fall Giveaway.

He was randomly selected in the latest floor-traffic-boosting promotion coming from the Motorcycle Industry Council’s ongoing Revive Your Ride! program. The Polk Motorcycle Garage Predictor tool will help create a custom list for Hayden, of Kendallville, Ind., helping him with new prospects and store visits by reaching potential customers most likely to own certain types of bikes by brand, segment, displacement, purchase type and purchase timing.

“This year we’re reaching out to dealerships with some great incentives to participate in our Revive Your Ride! Fall Giveaway,” said Cam Arnold, vice president, aftermarket, at the MIC. “It costs no money to participate in this great program that increases floor traffic and puts cash into customer pockets. And now, dealers can win some valuable prizes on top of that.”