The Marketing Bureau

by Dwight Whitney
Originally published in NZ Marketing January-February 2011

Jucy rentals isn’t just a tourism business. It’s a marketing company. And, if co-founder, chief executive and recently crowned Ernst & Young entrepreneur of the year Tim Alpe has his way, it’s only just getting started. Dwight Whitney discovered how savvy marketing, a desire for innovation and a sassy dame by the name of Lucy helped his company rise above the rentals rabble

Okay, let’s get the Richard Branson comparisons out of the way first. There are certainly parallels between their styles, their brand orientation, their involvement in the realm of tourism and leisure and their proclivity to use imagery of the ‘fairer sex’ in their marketing material. But even though Jucy’s co-founder and chief executive Tim Alpe says he’d love to break bread with Sir Richard, one thing is clear: Jucy Lucy is no Virgin.

“We wanted to take a next generation approach to marketing and felt early on we wanted a personality that represented our business and us,” he says. “Lucy came about in 2007 when we built our first campa [Jucy’s version of the camper van] and thought it would be fun to give it some ‘attitude’.

“I always loved the WW2 pin up girls on the side of American B52 bombers and thought that would be great for the side of a campa. And once Lucy made her debut and it became clear our customers loved her, she then started appearing in all Jucy marketing material. Fundamentally she represents fun and that is what we’re offering. She is cheeky and doesn’t mind being risky to attract customers.”

The journey begins

Alpe had his first experience with campervans when he started cleaning them to fund his university studies. And he says his entrepreneurial talents ran in the family.

“My father was very entrepreneurial in his own right and I suppose I was born to be an entrepreneur. From the start he helped us out a lot and instilled a desire to succeed and a desire to create, so in that respect I have always wanted to be in my own business; I have always wanted to create my own brand that crosses over into other areas.”

Yet he is very clear whatever he developed would not be a clone of someone else’s thinking.

“My desire to purposely not copy existing business models has worked in our favour, with Jucy leading the industry with innovation in online bookings and custom-manufacturing of camper interiors. From the outset I set what some would see as an audacious goal to create a leading tourism brand in Australasia. I have never lost sight of it or confidence in the fact that we would reach it. And I feel we’re now well on the way to achieving that goal.”

After graduating from university, Alpe joined Tourism Holdings Limited (THL) in a more formal capacity. He continued cleaning campervans for a while, before moving up the corporate ranks to become the youngest general manager of one the group’s companies, Airbus. When he took the driver’s seat, the operation’s numbers were going south—and fast. But he learned the ins and outs of the business and quickly turned the fiscal corner into profit mode.

Ezy riders

Though life in a corporation had some appeal, Alpe wanted to sink his teeth into something meatier. Or, more appropriately, something juicier. So with younger brother Dan providing the expertise on matters mechanical, he developed a business proposition that outlined their view of how a new venture might be structured and run.

He left his job at THL with general good wishes but also with a restraint of trade. And, on the less than ideal date of 12 September 2001, a time when tourism quickly turned sour following the events of 9/11, the Alpe brothers set up their company, calling it Ezy Rentals.

From a small office in Auckland, and with an initial fleet of 35 Daewoo Lanos purchased from the Auckland Hospital Board using money borrowed from their dad, they got their business dream up and running. But from the start it was always Alpe’s desire to create a tourism brand, not just a tourism business because, in his view, success in an industry with low barriers of entry and so many operators necessitated innovation, both in the approach to attracting business and in the product that was being offered.

“I’ve always thought of Jucy not as a rental company but as a marketing company. It was always my desire to create a funky brand that people were attracted to over that of our competitors. When you have 200+ car rental operators in Auckland alone you need a point of difference. Ours had to be brand. And the brand had to be appealing to potential customers and staff.”

With this in mind, and even though Ezy was making inroads beyond expectation, he felt that hanging innovation off this particular brand would falter. So, in 2007, with the help of its agency Radiation, which Alpe says has been a big reason for the success of the brand (see sidebar), the saucy, flame-haired, kiss-blowing Lucy became the face and body of the business. And while he knew she alone wouldn’t be enough to sustain the operation, he was sure it would help get the company noticed.

As well as aesthetics, Jucy also concentrated on enhancing the customer experience. And one innovation, which is now commonplace in an industry that is increasingly focused on digital marketing channels to lure customers, was offering real-time quotes and bookings through its website. Jucy was also one of the first to offer live chat and free calling from Australia, USA, UK and Europe.

“This enabled prospective customers who were interested in hiring a vehicle in New Zealand to pick up the phone and call us at no expense. Financially we were able to do this by not offering our products through traditional distribution. The cost to us in paying for phone calls was less than three percent of the hire. We have continued to make good use of online channels, talking to customers through our blog and Facebook to communicate deals and keep in touch.”

‘Jucy-fication’

One legacy from Alpe’s time at THL was a restraint of trade that meant Jucy was unable to own or operate campervans for a period of five years. But he was allowed to act as a THL agent. Within 24 months of promoting its offer, Jucy became one of THL’s largest domestic booking agents, bringing in multi-million dollar sales. At this point, THL elected to cancel the contract, which then released Alpe from the restraint of trade. So straight away he moved back to his tourism roots and into campervans.

“Again, to gain momentum and advantage over our competitors we looked at how we could make this form of mobile accommodation more like home,” he says. “Through talking to customers we found that the age or number of kilometres on the clock weren’t so important. What was more vital was to have a new, modern and more inviting interior.”

To help “Jucy-fy” the experience, they enlisted boat builders, primarily because he believed they had the required skills to put funky living areas into small spaces. As a consequence, the company has been able to custom build its vehicles at a fraction of the cost of competitors. And, from a manufacturing base in Helensville called Jucy by Design that was established in 2009, it has squeezed out over 350 campas that now ply the roads in New Zealand and Australia.

With company revenue of just on $30 million, over 2,300 vehicles now on the road, offices throughout New Zealand and Australia and over 130 employees on its books, Jucy is an undoubted Kiwi business success story. But in true Branson-esque fashion, the brand is still looking to expand and now encompasses a Jucy hotel in Auckland. It also has a shareholding in Cityhop (New Zealand’s first car share company) and Milford Sound-based Cruize Milford, so it’s certainly not just a rental company anymore. In fact, given the success of the brand thus far, Alpe believes it has the potential to cross over from tourism to other sectors.

“Whether we decide to do that or not is yet to be seen. I think we need to be careful that Jucy works for our industry, as it is all about travel and experiencing new places. If we think something in our sector can be Jucy-fied, we’ll do it. With tourism playing such a vital role in our economy, and now being so diverse, I’m sure there will be plenty of options.”

So, would Jucy work on, say, shampoo? Alpe isn’t sure, but one day he may give it a try. One thing he is sure about, however, is that Lucy will never be made into a real person.

“It is better to have her looking over our shoulders as she does now. Everything from the recruitment of crew to campaigns such as Ski4Free, our very successful free skiing with every hire deal at Treble Cone, is Jucy-fied. It’s our way of putting our attitude into what we do.”

Points of difference

Alpe takes delight in the fact he and his team have created and branded something that sets them apart from the competition; that they’ve created a noticeable, appealing brand. And, as one of 300 car rental companies and one of 50 campervan operators in New Zealand, he wants customers with Jucy Lucy emblazoned on the side of their vehicles to drive them with pride.

“This industry is one where moving quickly matters. And my ability to take calculated risks has been a major strength of the business. Without the necessary confidence in myself and my team to make bold, timely decisions, we could have not reached a very healthy annual turnover, entered new markets, grown our fleet, opened our first hotel or attracted the customers we have.”

In terms of standing out, winning the coveted Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in October was a particularly juicy accomplishment for Alpe and his business. And there’s a chance for even more recognition when he heads to Monte Carlo to represent New Zealand at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in May.

“The award has been massive for both Jucy and me. It is such a prestigious award and one that I’m truly proud to have won. It may have my name on it, but it is very much shared by everyone who has built this business into what it is today. What I love is that we’re really just getting started and being acknowledged has made me even hungrier to take Jucy to the world.”