Toyota Quick Off Mark To Fill Guinness Order
Guinness’s latest advertising campaign is based on racing gastropods, but the only thing snail-like about the Toyota Land Cruisers the leading brewer has chosen for its promotional fleet are their hard shells.
The 12 Colorado FX five-doors won’t have time to hang around on the starting line – they are expected to notch up around 30,000 miles a year, as they dash fully loaded from one city centre to another, up and down the country.
The black Land Cruisers, specially signwritten with white, gold and blue logos, have replaced Land Rover Discoverys in the promotional fleet. “Everyone’s been going “whoo-hoo!” – they’re very excited to be getting these vehicles,” says Field Manager Rob Blair, who manages the Guinness Maverick 2000 city centre promotional campaign.
This “sampling and recruitment” programme involves six teams of promotional representatives – four to a vehicle – linking up with 10 pubs in a town centre for the evening. Their task is to offer pub-goers what many might consider a hard-to-resist proposition – the chance to drink two free pints of Guinness!
“We needed big off-road vehicles with presence, and the capacity to carry the teams and a lot of promotional kit, as well as their luggage,” says Guinness’s Recruitment Promotions Manager Mark Bickerton. “We were offered a competitive package in terms of price and specification. The vehicles will be on the road most of the time, on one or two-week tours.”
The promotional teams had been looking forward to using the Toyota 4x4s, said Mark. “Everyone’s very pleased. Compared with what we had before, the Land Cruisers are a far better package and also far more luxurious. It’s really a case of two great brands coming together.”
Guinness is the world’s leading producer of stout – it is brewed in 50 countries and drunk in 150. Its portfolio also includes such brands as Harp and Kaliber, and the company is noted for its heavy investment in marketing. Toyota is the third largest car manufacturer and tenth largest company in the world.
If the Land Cruisers can be spared from their hectic schedule, they could also be seen at forthcoming major sporting events sponsored by Guinness. The vehicles are supplied on full-maintenance contract hire over 18 months by British Car Contracts.
“We’re very pleased that Guinness has chosen Toyota Land Cruisers for such a high profile and demanding role,” says Toyota Fleet’s General Manager Mark Hall. “Perhaps it’s true that all things come to those who wait!”
ENDS
