Lexis is to mastermind the PR behind the launch of CarLand - a
supermarket-style retailer of second-hand cars.
The agency was brought in this week by the newly-appointed marketing
director of CarLand, James Bidwell. It is working on a media relations
campaign which will begin just after Christmas to tie in with the
opening of the first store in Lakeside Retail Park in Thurrock,
Essex.
The campaign, which will be linked with TV, press and poster
advertising, will focus on how CarLand will change second-hand car
buying.
The Lakeside store, the first of 20 planned to open before the year
2000, will cover 100,000 square feet and will display 300 cars. The cars
will all be less than five years old, pre-checked and sold with
guarantees, said Bidwell.
As well as trying to get press and TV coverage on second- hand car
buying, Lexis will work with other retailers in Lakeside to encourage
cross-promotions.
’You don’t often get the chance to launch an entirely new brand, and a
recent OFT report on the second-hand car market shows too clearly what
the current perceptions of this market are,’ said Lexis director Hugh
Birley.
Bidwell describes CarLand as a kind of ’IKEA-like’ store, with cars
arranged in a warehouse-style superstore. Although most staff will have
retail experience the majority of them will not have previously sold
cars. This approach, adopted by Daewoo when it launched, is to avoid any
hard sell approaches.
