It's About Time - Chrysler Doing Something New To Market Jeep

It's a long, long way from the outback or any actual offroad driving but Chrysler is making an effort be innovative and reach new Jeep customers. They are now setting up driving tracks to allow potential clients to experience the Jeep’s trail rated difference!

In October 2006 Chrysler set up what they called Camp Jeep at the South Florida International Auto Show. Basically Jeep made a driving exhibit to give drivers as close to a real-life offroad driving experience with a Jeep. This was no minor feat. They had to haul in over 220 yards of mulch to the Miami Beach Convention Center and spent almost six days building the "offroad" course. It featured an 18 foot hill and a pond/water obstacle and other driving challenges. This was to show potential customers just how a Jeep performs out on the trails.

Then Chrysler decided to top itself with their "Full Throttle Test Drive Event" at Wild Rivers Water Park in Irvine, CA (Los Angeles area) on the weekend of October 28th and 29th. They featured their full line of vehicles on three different specialty courses; one was a 4x4 offroad adventure course. Consumers were able to test the offroad performance of the Jeep Wrangler, Grand Cherokee and Commander.

People were able to register to drive over the telephone and on-line and there was food and drinks available. Anyone that was 18 years or older and had a valid driver’s license was able to participate. Was the expense of putting on such a show and to construct these man-made obstacle courses worth it? Chrysler thinks so and some marketing studies seem to back them up. According to some market research, 40% of the people that attend these types of exhibits will buy a vehicle within a year of the event.

I think it was great that Chrysler is lookign for and developing innovative ways to demonstrate their vehicles’ performance and to give people an opportunity to get an idea of what it's like out on the trails. Look for more marketing innovations from Chrysler as they continue to push to further strengthen their offroad and 4x4 image.

Speaking of pushing, we're pushing our Jeep parts and accessories at XtremeTerrain.com. We have a complete line of interior and exterior accessories, suspension and performance parts, restoration and body parts, travel accessories, and much more can be found at our online store.

Yeah, I know that last part was a shameless plug, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Know what I mean?