RV Weekly

BY DANA NELSEN

If you believe what you read each morning about the overall economy, it seems that the nation has reentered the Great Depression. The business section of many national news media Web sites have been a buzz with lots of depressing news of late. Inflation is rising. Consumer confidence indexes are down. Energy costs are through the roof. Basically, the sky is falling.

While I can’t argue the truthfulness of those macro-level economic stories, I can tell you that dealers say that much of the doom and gloom really doesn’t apply to the RV industry. Sure, some areas of the country are down more than others, but an astounding number of dealers I spoke with recently at the distributor shows told me that so far they are actually doing more business in 2008. Many dealer shows in January and February did pretty well, according to many I’ve talked with.

It seems the dealers who struggle the most are smaller dealers who may not have invested in their facilities, employees, service operations or aftermarket inventory. Dealers with a history of offering a top-notch buying experience with excellent customer service are weathering the storm just fine. In fact, they are taking market share.

At the recent Stag-Parkway show, during the opening comments, they showed a slide of how business “opportunity” is greatest during an up-turn or a down-turn of business. If what Stag says is true, present market conditions are perfect to seize market share.

While I’ve talked with a good number of dealers, I think it would be really interesting if we could get as many dealers as possible to post what part of the country they are in and give a small snapshot of how RV sales are doing in their local market. I suspect that things aren’t nearly as bad as what national news organizations would lead us to believe.

BY DANA NELSEN

James Bond has nothing on the RV Industry. It’s true, he has a never-ending list of cool gadgets, but the RV industry has the “full-wall slide,” which in my opinion matches some of the coolest things “Q” ever came up with for Bond. Okay, so maybe Q came up with an invisible car in “Die Another Day,” but that is probably only because the R & D boys at Jayco decided an “invisible RV” was just too dangerous for America’s highways. 

International men of mystery? Sure, Bond tops the list, but only because many have never heard of Bill and Ed, the RV spy guys. That’s right, thanks to Monaco Coach Corp., the RV industry now has its very own “go-to guys” for exploits in espionage.

Check out Monaco’s newest Website at www.rvspyguys.com, where for three minutes and, twenty seconds, a video highlights Bill and Ed’s most recent adventure.

At a time when many companies are cutting staff and advertising, Monaco seized on the You Tube craze to produce a low-cost promotional video for their products in a fun and interesting (and yes, kind of cheesy) way. I have to applaud them for stepping out and supporting their dealers like this. While the video may not be on par with “Casino Royale,” and maybe the script writer is no Ian Fleming, it is still a very positive step forward.

In an interview with The Register Guard, a Eugene, Ore., newspaper, Monaco’s web developer Steve Barth said the project was really just an experiment to use some viral marketing and see how far the video would travel for free on the web.

This just goes to show that it doesn’t always take a huge budget to build brand awareness. A little creativity and the latest technology can take you world-wide, even if you are no James Bond.

By Erica Schulz

On Sunday, February 5, 2008, nearly 148.3 million viewers tuned in to watch part or all of Super Bowl XLII (The second highest number of audience members ever to tune in at the same time, behind the final episode of M*A*S*H* in 1983). On that fateful day, something happened that most people didn’t expect: The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 17-14.

Isn’t victory even sweeter when the underdog unexpectedly defeats his opponents? With all of that scrutiny, the winner can stand up and say, “We told you so… and you didn’t believe.”

The same scrutiny occurs when small businesses compete with the “big dogs.” If a business only focuses on the seemingly impossible odds against his competition, poor mentality follows, with the idea “It can’t be done.”

So, what makes the G-Men so much less “qualified,” or undeserving of a title, than the renowned Pats?

First off, the Patriots can already boast three rings in the last six years, showing their ability to consistently come out on top.

If that weren’t enough, their leadership and star player, quarterback Tom Brady has proven himself to be a crucial asset to the team’s makeup.

Now compare this stallion to the seemingly under-developed and over-scrutinized QB, Eli Manning. The New Orleans-native already had legendary shoes to fill next to his father Archie; and brother, Peyton (Not to mention, Peyton’s “commercial” success).

With the past experience and proven leadership already favoring the Patriots, it seemed a safe bet to go with a team that has the history and numbers, to back up the win. It seemed inevitable the Patriots would be going for their fourth Lombardi trophy. The Super Bowl, after all, is a test to determine the best of the best.

But that’s not what happened.

With teamwork, communication, a full knowledge of their opponent’s plays and the skills to back it up, the Giants were able to take home their first Super Bowl ring in almost 20 years.

And – come on – what QB can get out of a three-man sack, only to advance 32 yards with a pass off the helmet of his wide receiver?

The only way to reach the end zone is one down at a time.

With ample preparation, an extensive knowledge of your lineup and your opponents, and the experience on and off the field, even small businesses can achieve big results.

After all, America roots for the underdog.

BY DANA NELSEN

On February 1st, I received an e-mail from RVIA announcing a new web portal “to provide members, the press and the general public” with links to local and national newspapers’ news stories regarding RVing. I know that RVIA has tracked this information for a long, long time because they usually give a presentation at the national trade show outlook breakfast.

When I saw the press release, I couldn’t help but think that this Web site has come none too soon. While as a journalist, I often scour the newswires looking for RV-related news stories, I know most people in the industry don’t have the time to undertake such a project on a regular basis. That makes RVIA’s new web portal kind of handy. Plus it is a great public relations tool to promote the industry we all know and love.

One question I have for readers, since I’ve only been in this business for 2-1/2 years or so, is do you think news coverage for RVing has increased over the last 5, 10, 20 or even 30 years? If so, has the type of things covered changed at all? Can we identify any trends from the news coverage?

As usual your thoughts are always welcome.