Florida Dealership Taps Ducks for Marketing Expertise
The last couple of weeks (and, um, stories) have been awash in negative press and bad vibes for Nissan. Fortunately, mother nature stepped in to help one Florida dealership restore the cosmic balance by having a family of ducks move in.
A few months ago, a nest of ducklings hatched outside Sutherlin Nissan Orlando. They decided to stick around, creating an interesting incentive for customers. While we doubt the company would implement new dealer conditions that mandate an on-site petting zoo, it could be a novel solution to its sales woes. After all, promoting dogs worked extremely well for Subaru. Maybe Nissan can become the duck brand.
The Miami Herald (brought to our attention via Jalopnik) reports that managing partner Ulrich Stanley Marine documented the ducks’ progress through his Facebook account, to our collective benefit. Apparently, the little scamps spend much of their day in a nearby pond but frequently came inside for attention and treats.
“At first the mother was really protective of the babies,” said Marine. “Now they come in at least 15 times a day, and she doesn’t mind at all.”
“We let kids feed them and they put people in a good mood,” he continued, adding that their presence had ultimately helped sales.
Marine, who said he now considers the ducks to be the business’ mascots, noted that the dealership constructed a small pond near the store’s entrance to encourage them to stay close by. They’re currently featured on the brand’s social media page and have been covered by various local news outlets.
While we can’t say there’s much to take away from the story, other than further confirmation that ducks are extremely cute animals (at least until you look into their mating habits), and that dealership with access to adorable creatures can easily utilize them for free publicity. It works, and there’s really no way anybody can put a negative spin on it.
[Image: Sutherlin Nissan]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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There's got to be a dealership "padding the bill" joke to be made here, but I've got nothin'.
I wonder if the lowest performing salesman gets the honor of cleaning up all that duck poop on the showroom floor. That would be much more entertaining then watching Steve Harvey in the waiting lounge waiting for your Maxima to be serviced.