\fm PLATIHUH HOTORCAHS: MARKET seamemmon AND REPEAT PURCHASES tion to begin another day's work in his 199? Mercury Sable with 198,130!) miles on the odometer. He calls the carr which he purchased on craigslist,"Goldie.'E-enny doesn't believe in using his own money to buy and driyte fancy cars At the same time, he wore a highend black suit. As he explained, "I'm always going to be dressed to the nines. | always have the matching pocket so uare with the same color tie. I'm letting you know where my brand is. I'm not going to be cheap. You know that right from the get-go.'1'ou know it's going to be expensive. but you're going to get the yalue in what it is that you're trying to do.\" Platinum Motorcars grew out of a unique entrepreneur ial experience. Benny said. "I had 2 years of experience in the limo business. I told the wife one day that I wanted to start a B enny Black drove up to his Platinum Motorcars loca limo company. | always had the al'nityr for wanting to serye people of wealth, with means, because I thought, 'Ifyou can serye the masses, great, but if you can nd a niche, and just reach a certain type of clientele, | always thought the easy one would be people with money'My motto has always been 'a rich man will always be rich.'That's the ones you want to try to get to.\" He continued. \"I had that {limo seryice} for 2 years. I had already built a clientele base, but lthought there was too much competition, because I wasn't using my own limousine. what I was doing was borrowing a limo from my Friends. pay them for the limo, get paid for my time, and then just try to give that great service to the client. 'I had to gure out a different way. I could utilize the same clientele but in something that nobody else is doing. So that's "And he said, 'Can you get me a Bentley tomorrow after the game?" This was in 2000. "So I said, "Yeah, I think I can make that happen.I just got on the phone with some of the clients I'd been servicing, I called one client in particular and I said, 1 need to borrow one of your Bentleys. "They said, "What have you got going on? 1 said, 'I've got an athlete that wants to rent one to drive tomorrow after the game' "He said, "What will you give me?" said, I'll give you a thousand." "He said, 'Give me a thousand and an autographed jersey, and it's yours." Benny completed the deal, making a handsome profit. From there, Black developed the business model that has expanded to include rental services for high-end luxury vehi- cles, chauffeur services, and sales/leasing arrangements. His exotic rental cars include Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls Royce, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. Sports cars are also available with Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, and Maserati vehicles for rent Renters must meet high standards, including a $1,000 hold on a credit card, a $250 nonrefundable reservation fee, proof of insurance, and a significant charge for cancellation. Drivers must be 25 years old for some cars and over 30 for oth- ers. Platinum Motorcars serves an impressive client list, include ing major sports stars, celebrities, local business leaders, and even foreign dignitaries and tourists. As Black puts it, 1 became "The Exotic Car Guy' I'm the guy you call when you come into Dallas. My tagline is "We provide the lifestyle you deserve." Bennie noted that several similar auto rental businesses Courtesy of Platinum Motor Cars had come and gone in the Dallas area. His explanation was that the businesses catered to people who would drive a luxury car as a "once in a lifetime experience" such as for a prom, wedding. or some other major event Instead, his company focuses on individuals who might desire a luxury driving experience on an Benny Black turned his vision into a lucrative exotic car rental ongoing (even if sporadic) basis. These customers, rather than business. buying a single car, are able to rent from a wide selection for various events during the course of the year, including simply where I had the idea that I needed to figure out how I can drive taking a weekend to drive a luxury vehicle. nice cars and not have to pay for them. Through connections with a variety of people of wealth, "My biggest catalyst for that was that I got a call from one of including the new" and the old"rich, and effective combinations the larger hotels, and they had a ballplayer in town that wanted of the internet, social media, word-of-mouth, and exciting events to be driven around in a limousine I picked him up, and while and offers, the future looks bright for Benny Black and Platinum I was driving I actually said to him, If you ever need a nice car Motorcars. Most recently, the company expanded to a second while you're in Dallas, let me see what I can do for you' location using the same marketing and business model4-43. Define the consumer market segments served by Platinum sense given the company's target markets and product Motorcars. Define the potential business-to-business mar- positioning? Defend your answer. ket segments Platinum Motorcars could serve. 4-46. Consider Benny's target market of individuals who could 4-44. Explain the product positioning of the Platinum afford to purchase one of his exotic cars but realizes the Motorcars rental service. investment is not wise for the few times they would drive 4-45. Using the internet, locate Platinum Motorcars. What new it. Design a print ad for the Dallas magazine aimed at businesses has the company entered? Do these make individuals with incomes of $300,000 plus.Benihana currently holds the title of the longest running dinner show in the world.\" Not surprisingly, a series of entrepreneurs has Jumped on the bandwagon and created slmllar dlnlng programs. Some have developed chains of restaurants while others offer single locations In various cities in the United States The concept of combining food preparation, dInIng, and entertainment is not limited to Japanese steakhousetype organizations. A series of restaurants features singing waiters. Missouri-based Lambert's Cafe sells 'throwed rolls\" that the serv ers literally toss at patrons. To achieve success, one key appears to be creating a logical combination of the entertainment pro- gram with the food to be served. At the same time, other elements deserve attention, Including the colors chosen for the restaurant's decor. For example, the Logo Company states that green suggests some thing \"natural, organic, youth, nurturing, [and] Instructional...\" among others. Green ts with medicine, science, government, and ecology, but maybe not food Ithink mold}. Drange gen erates cheerfulness, red creates excitement, gold conjures Images of warmth, and blue suggests dependability and strength.\" Colors combine with music, furniture, server outfits. and many other ingredients in order to construct a total dining experience. Then. marketing communications can be added to the mix. Focus groups and other forms of research help the mama THE IMC PLANNING FIIIJCESS 1 1? marketing team discover if all of the elements work together. Eventually, a company name, logo, and an advertising pro- gram can be designed to entice patrons to try something new and different. +33. Which consumer market segments best match with Benihanalr Explain the positioning approach used by Benihana. If you were assigned to create a competitor restaurant that prepared and served Japanese-style hibachl meals,whlchcol ors would you d'toose for the restaurant? What type of music should be played? What other features should be key parts of the Interior of the restaurant? How would you differentiate the restaurant from Benlhana and other slmllard'ralnsir For the same competitor restaurant. assume that it has only one location in Seattle. Washington. Design an advertising campaign and identify the types of media that would reach your target market and create the right positioning. The color red holds special meaning in Asian culture as a symbol of celebration. Conseguently. red is featured in much of Benihana's marketing materials. Which colors would match other restaurant types such as fried chicken. fast food hamburgers, or pizza parlors? Would your answer be different if the food were to be sold in other countries?l Why or why not?l 4-39. 44B. 4-41