EDITOR’S NOTE: Now in its 14th year, the RVBusiness Top 50 program celebrates those North American RV dealerships that, in the eyes of an esteemed panel of independent judges, best exemplifies dealer excellence in customer and community service. Winning dealers will be recognized during a presentation Nov. 13 during the RV Dealers Convention/Expo at Paris Las Vegas.
RVBusiness will publish a profile of each Top 50 sponsor leading up to the RV Dealers Convention/Expo.
Wells Fargo Inventory Finance is honored to be a founding sponsor of the RVBusiness Top 50 Program. The honorees of the Top 50 represent those who are fully invested in elevating the RV lifestyle and have a strong focus on the customer experience. They consistently seek excellence in the industry and are the benchmark in best practices.
“It is with great pride and gratitude that we stand as an inaugural sponsor of the RVBusiness Top 50 program, a testament to our enduring support for the RV industry. This partnership not only acknowledges the excellence of RV dealers, but also honors our cherished relationships with RVDA and RVBusiness. We are thrilled to celebrate these achievements and continue fostering our long-standing connections,” says Chad Lyon, managing director, inventory finance.
“We take immense pride in the long-term relationships we’ve built across the industry and are always looking for ways to complement our core inventory finance product. Our role as a stable, long-term source of funding for the OEM/dealer community, with a legacy exceeding four decades, remains steadfast,” Lyon says. “Being part of Wells Fargo Bank has enabled us to introduce a wider array of financial solutions to our customers. With our industry engagement, we are optimistic that additional enhancements will be offered in the near term. Our dedicated and specialized approach to the market is tailored by design to provide the right financial solutions, market data, analytics and peer benchmarking to improve businesses and maximize customer profits.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Now in its 14th year, the RVBusiness Top 50 program celebrates those North American RV dealerships that, in the eyes of an esteemed panel of independent judges, best exemplifies dealer excellence in customer and community service. Winning dealers will be recognized during a presentation Nov. 13 during the RV Dealers Convention/Expo at Paris Las Vegas.
RVBusiness will publish a profile of each Top 50 sponsor leading up to the RV Dealers Convention/Expo.
RV Trader draws more than 9 million visitors to its premier website connecting interested buyers with RV dealers, but the company is not resting on its laurels.
In fact, RV Trader is continually improving the website to make it even more valuable for consumers and dealers, says Erin Ruane, chief marketing officer for Virginia Beach, Virginia-based Trader Interactive, the parent company of RV Trader.
“We’ve got a lot of new tools and programs that we’ve been rolling out to support our dealers,” she says. For example, RV Trader has launched Service First, which pairs a dedicated RV Trader sales consultant to work with individual dealers that they can contact anytime to discuss their performance metrics. Additionally, RV Trader this year debuted its Premium Select product, which elevates dealer ads from standard to premium listings, and its eMail Lead Amplifier program, which provides dealers with more consumer email leads.
RV Trader also ramped up a new generation of unbiased RV product reviews, which Ruane says consumers and dealers alike should appreciate. “I think it really underscores the commitment that we have to continually improve our platform for both dealers and consumers,” she says.
Other benefits RV Trader offers to dealers include its TraderTraxx web program and smartphone app for dealers, as well as its lead enrichment software. Those programs provide exclusive industry data, as well as insights on consumers shopping the website, such as the type of unit they are shopping for and how long they’ve been searching. TraderTraxx also lets dealers manage their online leads.
Meanwhile, RV Trader has a designated onboarding team that works with dealers when they first join to help them make the most of their membership. The company also offers in-person training at trade shows and customized webinars where dealers can learn how to make the most of RV Trader tools, as well as resources such as SEO best practices and trend reports.
Currently, RV Trader is beta testing a program that collects information from customers on the website about how responsive dealers are on following up with sales leads and it lets the dealers know how their prices compare with others on the website.
“We take our role in this amazing industry very seriously,” Ruane said. “We are here to provide leading advertising services to connect buyers to dealers and to provide dealers with the data only we have to make stronger, data-driven decisions in order to be more successful.”
As for why RV Trader is supporting the RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards, Ruane says, “Supporting the RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards is a testament to our commitment. We celebrate and recognize the outstanding achievements of dealers who drive our industry forward, showcasing the innovation and dedication that makes the RV community thrive.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Now in its 14th year, the RVBusiness Top 50 program celebrates those North American RV dealerships that, in the eyes of an esteemed panel of independent judges, best exemplifies dealer excellence in customer and community service. Winning dealers will be recognized during a presentation Nov. 13 during the RV Dealers Convention/Expo at Paris Las Vegas.
RVBusiness will publish a profile of each Top 50 sponsor leading up to the RV Dealers Convention/Expo.
NTP-STAG is much more than a parts distributor—it is one-stop shop for everything RV service and repair professionals need to keep their customers on the road, according to Andy Morgan, senior director of marketing for the Exeter, Pennsylvania-based company.
“We want to be a partner that helps them run their business and be as efficient and effective as they can,” he says. That support takes many forms, Morgan says, starting with offering next-day parts and accessories delivery service to retailers, thanks to the company’s eight warehouses located strategically across the country and its own fleet of delivery trucks.
Notably, the company has opened expanded distribution facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Orlando, Florida areas in the past year in order to better serve customers in those regions. Now, with its eight facilities combined, NTP-STAG has almost 3 million square feet of warehouse space.
“We continue to make investments in the business to help support improved service and better parts availability,” Morgan says.
Meanwhile, the company is putting a renewed focus on repair parts, warranty and service offerings for dealers. Specifically, Morgan says the company has relaunched an updated version of its MagniFinder RV parts finder website and it has revitalized its PARTease backroom service and warranty parts stocking program.
Morgan says NTP-STAG continues to work with OEMs to add more warranty and service parts to its inventory. Combined with its parts and accessories offerings, NTP-STAG offers 185,000 stocking SKUs.
“It’s something where we’re trying to have that right stock for dealers and their retailer customers,” he says.
Other ways NTP-STAG assists its dealer partners include parts store resets and refreshes, other merchandising assistance and offering a variety of marketing tools, including print and digital catalogs and social media support. In addition, they are offering website-services, product and supplier training, OE warranty fulfillment, and producing a top industry trade shows.
“We want to be a partner that helps dealers be as efficient and as effective as they can,” he says.
Morgan says NTP-STAG proudly supports the RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards because it believes that dealers that go above and beyond to serve their customers are worthy of special recognition.
“We support all our customers, but we want to get behind this because it’s recognizing the best and brightest dealerships from across the U.S. and Canada, who we are in business to serve,” he says. “We think it’s great the top dealers are recognized and we support the process and recognition for those Top 50 dealers.”
Jesse Stopnitzky enjoys being the face of Performance Brokerage Services at the annual RV Dealers Association Convention in Las Vegas and other select dealer events.
“I’ll be at the RVDA Convention again this year,” he says. “I often hand out business cards at these events, as I want people to know when they call, they can speak with me personally.”
The family-owned dealership brokerage firm believes in offering personalized service, but, as a result, Stopnitzky says he believes the size and scope of the Irvine, California-based company’s operations aren’t always immediately apparent to dealers.
Jesse Stopnitzky
“I think what some people don’t recognize about our company is that we are 30 years in business; we’re 10 offices across the U.S. and Canada; we’re about 35 dealmakers; and we’ve consummated more than 900 dealership sales, including 76 this year,” he says. “We are the highest-volume brokerage firm in North America. So, I think sometimes the perception might be that the business is just me and my family, but it’s a powerhouse firm.”
Being a nationwide firm and being involved in several industries, including RV, marine, auto and powersports, gives Performance Brokerage Services advantages when it comes to serving its clients, says Stopnitzky, a co-owner of the business. He recalls a transaction where his company helped an automotive dealer north of Denver buy an RV dealership in Colorado Springs. In another transaction, Stopnitzky’s business helped facilitate the sale of the largest Airstream dealership group in the Pacific Northwest to the largest automotive dealership chain.
“I think something that makes us unique is our access to the largest, top-quality dealers and buying groups across all dealership industries,” he says.
Mergers and acquisitions in the RV sector have slowed down this year as interest rates have risen and market conditions have softened, Stopnitzky acknowledges. Still, for dealers who are contemplating their exit strategy—even if it’s several years out—it never hurts to talk with a buy/sell expert, he adds.
“It’s never too early to prepare; there’s no fees and no commitments,” he says. “We always say, ‘We’re not here for the business today. We’re here for the relationship today—and the business will come when the time is right.’”
Stopnitzky says Performance Business Services is proud to be a sponsor of the RVBusiness Top 50 dealership awards because it shares the sentiment that top dealers deserve to be recognized for their achievements. “We think it’s an exceptional event and we are truly honored to be a part of it,” he says.
SEATTLE, Wash. – Dealers wanting to buy and sell used RVs, boats and powersports online now have another option with the recent launch of Wholesale Whale (https://wholesalewhale.com).
David Karstens
Company founder and president David Karstens previously worked as the chief technology officer (CTO) for a multi-store RV dealership based in Boise, Idaho. He said that experience convinced him there needed to be a better, easier way for dealers to buy and sell used inventory from their fellow dealers.
“The process of getting started on the wholesale side was wanting a simple way for dealers to connect with each other to get inventory,” he said. “And it just became apparent in conversations with dealers and from feedback that the current wholesale methods are pretty challenging and not as useful as dealers would want, from a technology point of view.”
So, Karstens and his development partner and CTO, Justin Shaw, launched Wholesale Whale, which Karstens said was specifically designed to make the whole process as user-friendly as possible. For example, a dealer in the market for used inventory can create a “hot sheet” for various types of RVs they are interested in purchasing that fit their criteria.
“A dealer can enter what they are specifically interested in. For example, if I only wanted to be (alerted) when a Class A diesel, in the Southwest, in this condition (i.e. good, fair, acceptable), is listed,” Karstens said. “You can filter the entire process through the lens of your hot sheet.”
Once an RV is listed on the platform that meets a buying dealer’s criteria, he receives a text message or email, Karstens added.
“A dealer can respond directly through that email or text that they want to make an offer on a unit; you don’t have to go anywhere else to log in,” he said. “So, convenience and speed is one of the things that we really focused on.”
RV Listings Made Easy
Karstens said Wholesale Whale also makes it very easy for dealers to list their used inventory on the website, as the platform can connect with a retailer’s dealer management system to download a used RV listing’s pertinent details.
“We can connect directly to (a dealer’s DMS) to pull in those details, which makes it super easy to list,” he said. “So, we pull in all of the data from that unit, like the model year, make, model number, VIN number, maybe odometer reading. And the only thing that you, as a dealer, are really responsible for is the condition report.”
To determine a sale price for a model, Karstens said dealers are expected to use the book value of a third-party source, such as JD Power, and then state how much under book value they are willing to accept for the unit. “So, a dealer listing an RV might say, ‘I’m willing to accept offers up to 20 percent below value for this unit,’” he explained.
In other cases, Wholesale Whale can help a dealership automate the process of disposing of aged inventory. For example, if a dealer has a used RV on their sales lot that is more than 60 days or 90 days old (whichever the dealership decides), that unit automatically gets listed on Wholesale Whale for 10 percent below its book value, Karstens said.
“Every dealer has a unit in the back of their lot that no one is paying attention to, and it’s just growing cobwebs on it,” he said. “Well, now you can set a trigger on that unit and have it automatically listed on the platform. And now dealers nationwide have the opportunity to look at it and put an offer on it.
“But, unlike an auction house, there is no obligation to buy and there’s no obligation to sell,” he added. “But, at least now, dealers have options if a unit is not retailing, or if he’s in the market for used inventory.”
While details about models for sale are listed on Wholesale Whale, Karstens said information regarding both sellers and buyers on the platform are not initially disclosed.
“Both parties have to agree to connect,” he said. Once they do, Karstens said the buying and selling dealers are connected and are able to hash out final details, such as who will pay for vehicle titling and the cost for transporting the RV, boat or powersport unit.
Wholesale Whale officially went live last week. For now, the web platform is limiting the number of participating dealers, but Karstens said more dealers will be added each week.
During a period of beta testing expected to last about 30 days, Wholesale Whale is free for dealers to use. After that time, participating dealers will be charged a monthly subscription fee, Karstens said.
Karstens said he is optimistic about Wholesale Whale’s prospects, in part because his company previously ran an earlier platform, called RV Whale, that had about 250 participating dealers.
“With that learning process, we’ve made a number of changes, just to be a better fit for dealers,” he said. “Our whole thing is to support dealers and get them a useful tool for inventory management that no one else is offering.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Now in its 14th year, the RVBusiness Top 50 program celebrates those North American RV dealerships that, in the eyes of an esteemed panel of independent judges, best exemplifies dealer excellence in customer and community service. Winning dealers will be recognized during a presentation Nov. 13 during the RV Dealers Convention/Expo at Paris Las Vegas.
Brown & Brown Insurance has deep roots in the RV industry and a long history of giving back to worthy organizations, perhaps most notably the RV Dealers Association.
In May, the company made a $26,666 contribution for 2024 to the RVDA Mike Molino RV Learning Center. The pledge fulfills Brown & Brown’s pledge of $200,000 for the RV Learning Center.
Mike Neal
“The RV Learning Center continues to prove its incredible value as a source of training and education for the nation’s dealership fixed-ops personnel and we consider our contributions to be a good investment in the future of the industry,” says Michael Neal, president of Brown & Brown Dealer Services.
Brown & Brown’s parent company, Brown & Brown Inc., is the sixth-largest independent insurance brokerage in the nation and provides risk management solutions to help protect what its customers value most. The company has more than 16,000 teammates and more than 500 locations worldwide.
Brown and Brown is always looking to introduce new products for RV dealers and end customers. At last year’s RVDA Convention & Expo, the company introduced its first roof service contract, called Roof Pro, which it touts as the industry’s first service contract designed to cover RV roofs. The service contract is the result of an exclusive partnership between Brown & Brown and supplier Alpha Systems. The contract has a five-year term with a $100 deductible and a $10,000 limited liability limit.
To support its dealer partners, Brown & Brown hosts an annual F&I school for all of its dealers, at no cost to those dealers. In 2023, the company hosted a three-day school for the first time, which enabled 23 presentations from vendors, lenders and Brown & Brown employees.
What’s more, not only does Brown & Brown offer in-house F&I training, but it also offers compliance training for all of its dealers. The company says the majority of its agents have sat in the F&I seat themselves at one point in life and can truly relate to dealers and the process of a sale.
Brown & Brown is a proud sponsor of the RV Business Top 50 Dealer Awards program. “We value the relationship we have with all of our dealers, and truly support this program,” says Shawn Moran, president of RV F&I and Brown & Brown Dealer Services.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Now in its 14th year, the RVBusiness Top 50 program celebrates those North American RV dealerships that, in the eyes of an esteemed panel of independent judges, best exemplifies dealer excellence in customer and community service. Winning dealers will be recognized during a presentation Nov. 13 during the RV Dealers Convention/Expo at Paris Las Vegas.
Airxcel’s sales tagline is: “Better Brands, Better Experiences.”
That succinct description understandably just scratches the surface when attempting to communicate the breadth of the company’s offerings and the quality that goes into all of its products, according to Piar Adams, Airxcel vice president of marketing, aftermarket and international sales.
“Airxcel oversees 15 of the most well-known brands in the RV industry. From heating and air conditioning to interior and exterior systems, all products under the Airxcel umbrella are highly engineered to deliver stress-free customer experiences,” he says.
The Wichita, Kansas-based company’s premium brands include Aqua-Hot, CAN, Clear Vision Windows, Cleer Vision Doors, Cleer Vision Tempered Glass, Coleman-Mach, Dicor Products, Elkhart Composites, Maxxair, MCD Innovations, Suburban, United Shade, and Vixen Composites. Notably, Airxcel late last year introduced two new brands: InVision and Velarium.
InVision supplies a variety of residential-style RV appliances, including microwaves, refrigerators, ranges and range hoods, available in stainless-steel or black finishes, as well as washers, dryers and small personal appliances. Velarium provides a full range of awning products, including 12-volt models, slide toppers, box awnings, replacement canopies, and awning accessories.
Adams says Airxcel launched its InVision and Velarium product lines, both of which are located in Elkhart, Indiana, in response to requests from RV manufacturers, but he says the brands also are finding success on the aftermarket side of the business. And to continue to support its dealer partners, Adams notes that Airxcel offers a variety of online and in-person product training opportunities for RV technicians, as well a variety of merchandising materials including store displays.
“We pride ourselves on the comprehensive support we provide dealers before, during and after the sale,” he says. “With the number of premium brands we bring to the table, we’re proud to deliver more selling opportunities, better aftermarket support, and product expertise when dealers need it. This is a distinction that we believe drives sales and increases trust between our partners and their customers.”
Adams says Airxcel is a proud sponsor of the RVBusiness Top 50 Dealer Awards because the awards recognizing top-performing retailers reflect the company’s own values of being a premium brand that delivers superior service.
“We think it’s a unique program that has grown its prestige. And it’s something that I know dealers really value, being recognized as a top 50 dealership,” he says. “We are honored to sponsor the event because it aligns with our values and desires, to continually find new and innovative ways to serve and engage with consumers to elevate the RV lifestyle.”
The founders of Remote Vans have been logging lots of miles on their adventure vans as of late, showing off their newest models at RV shows and overland expos across the U.S. to generate consumer buzz and support their growing dealer network.
“We just launched … our 2025 van series, so this roadshow had a couple of goals. One was just to make sure all our customers, potential customers and dealers knew all of the exciting changes on the 2025 series models,” said co-founder Tony Alexander. “It was also done to help train the dealership salesforce. We take that very seriously. We just want to make sure that — especially as a new-ish van builder that’s still expanding our footprint in the country — that we’re not just shipping these units out there into a vacuum. We want to know every single salesperson that is out there advocating for our products.”
Next up for the camper van maker: Elkhart Open House Week.
Remote Vans come equipped with the Vanhalla Seat, a two-person swivel seat offering 90-degrees of turn, allowing it to face forward, face toward the van door, or to recline to become a bed.
The Cincinnati, Ohio-area based company is actively looking to expand its dealer network. Currently, Johnson RV in the Pacific Northwest, Vogt RV in Texas and Campers Inn, with locations across the U.S., are retailing the company’s Class B models, which includes the Friday, the Oasis and the Aegis, with 2025 base MSRP pricing ranging from $189,500 to $244,500.
“We’ve got our production line really tuned in and working nicely and our customer base is growing quickly,” Alexander said. “So, we’re hoping that Elkhart is part of that puzzle to (helping us grow) and we’re looking forward to meeting quite a few of the major dealers around the country.”
As of late last week, Remote Vans was still firming up plans for a specific exhibit location, but it had confirmed meetings with representatives for about a dozen dealerships, he added.
Remote Vans occupies a fairly unique space within the luxury adventure van segment, offering premium features with a specific focus on power, comfort and connectivity. In particular, Alexander touts the company’s Cyber Shower, a recirculating, stowable shower system capable of offering seven 10-minute showers on its 32-gallon freshwater tank; the Vanhalla Seat, a two-person swivel seat offering 90-degrees of turn, allowing it to face forward, face toward the van door, or to recline to become a bed; the MoPoWa Power System, featuring a 51-volt Lithionics NeverDie power system and 16.8 kWh 100% reusable battery storage; and a 48-volt Nomadic Cooling A/C, which the company says is the most compact and efficient system in a Class B adventure van. Additionally, all Remote Vans come standard with a Starlink satellite system, allowing high-speed internet service from almost anywhere in the country.
Beyond that, company co-founder Daryn Hillhouse said Remote Vans has made a number of specific upgrades to its all of its models for 2015, including an upgraded suspension system featuring a heavy-duty leaf spring pack plus newly designed 17” wheels.
“Our vans have gotten a lot more beefy, as a whole, so it was important to improve the ride for the customer,” he explained.
Other 2025 Remote van model updates and improvements include an upgraded hydronic heating system; an updated MoPoWa housing system providing easier access to the water and power components; an upgraded stainless-steel kitchen sink with collapsible faucet; and an updated Pennyworth Van Control System, which now includes a “Lighthouse” safety mode feature that turns on all of the van’s external lighting.
Even with those many features and upgrades, Alexander said Remote Vans has been able to price its models competitively, where they would come in $10,000 below a comparably featured model.
All of Remote Van’s models are built on the premium Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis and the company produces its own upholstery, cabinetry and soft goods in-house.
“We vertically integrated almost our entire supply chain. We either do things in-house or we go directly to a trusted fabricator partner that builds to our specs,” Alexander said. “It’s been a harder road and it’s obviously been a more expensive road, but I think what that allows us to build is a much better van than the competition.”
Garnet Instruments started modestly in George Fraser’s garage in 1993, with the business name coming from the street where Fraser’s home was located, Garnet Avenue.
Today, the Edmonton area, Alberta, Canada-based company is a major supplier of holding tank monitoring systems to some of the RV industry’s largest manufacturers, including Grand Design, Jayco, Keystone RV, Tiffin and Forest River.
The company’s holding tank monitor product line, called SeeLeveL, today accounts for about half of Garnet’s total business, according to Fraser. It’s an accomplishment that is perhaps even more impressive given that the company didn’t originally set out to serve the RV market.
Garnet got its start by manufacturing devices designed to detect fluid levels in oilfield transport trucks, said Fraser, noting that the gas and oil industry is big business in Alberta. The company also makes tank monitoring systems for other liquids transported by tanker trucks, including chemicals and septic and wastewater.
To grow its oilfield business in the United States, Fraser said company sales and marketing rep Don Shapansky traveled cross-country in his RV to promote the company’s products to oilfield representatives in various oil-producing states. Shapansky quickly identified a problem with his RV that he believed Fraser could help rectify.
“As he was doing his sales work in the field, he realized that the holding tank gauges were very poor in the RV industry,” Fraser said. “He asked, ‘Is there anything you can do to make this work better?’
“Of course, when you’re living in an RV full time, it’s a fairly major inconvenience when you have no idea how much water you’ve got, or if your sewer tanks are full, and so on,” he added. “And the big problem with the sewer tanks is they always get gummed up with toilet paper and with refuse, which makes it difficult to get an accurate reading.”
Building a Better Mousetrap
Making use of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering as well as his expertise in creating holding tank monitors for other industries, Fraser set out to design a better mousetrap, so to speak.
While other tank monitoring systems rely on probes fitted inside of the holding tanks to gauge liquid levels, Fraser designed a monitoring system that is externally mounted. He said advantages of that system include no debris buildup on the sensor to cause false readings, simple installation via self-adhesive sensors and existing wiring, and versatile compatibility that allows the monitoring system to be installed on various size and shape tank configurations. Additionally, Garnet holding tank monitors are digital and include more sensors for more accurate readings.
“With a lot of other systems, the probes given you a very rough indication of the tank levels, like the tank is one-third full or two-third full, whereas ours gives you a percentage that can be within 3 percent,” Fraser explained. “That’s because with our system, for a typical 12-inch tall tank, you’ve got 32 sensing points, which gives you about a 3 percent resolution.
“So, with an old (monitoring) system, when you drop below one-third, you’ve got no idea—am I almost empty? Or am I just under one-third? Well, in our case, you actually know right down to that 3 percent what your holding tank level is.”
Garnet’s holding tank monitors are a bit more expensive than competing products, Fraser acknowledged, but said they make up for it in quality.
“What we try to emphasize to them (OEMs) is that it’s not just about the (product) cost. It’s also about your warranty costs in terms of the expense of fixing these (competing) probe systems that break down constantly and how much customer dissatisfaction are you incurring,” he said.
New Models Being Showcased During Open House Week
Today, Garnet’s holding tank monitors come in a variety of configurations, including models that can monitor between one and seven holding tanks and an RV-C interface series. During Elkhart Open House Week, Garnet will use its exhibit booth (#121) to showcase two new products: the SeeLevel Soul, a data module that gathers tank level information from SeeLeveL senders and transmits it to a multiplex system via an RV-C bus; and the SeeLevel 709-BTP7, a Blu-tooth-enabled system capable of monitoring up to seven holding tanks.
Now in its third decade in business, Fraser said many things have changed for the company over the years, including expanded product offerings and the opening of a facility in the Dallas, Texas, area to serve the U.S. market.
One thing that has not changed, Fraser said, is the company’s commitment to keeping its manufacturing operations in Canada and its call center operations in-house, staffed by its own employees. Fraser said the company’s commitment to customer service also is unwavering.
“As a company, we believe in conducting ourselves with integrity and honesty and serving our customers well,” he said. “We’ve been around for over 30 years now and I think that philosophy has proven itself out.”
FAIRFAX, Va. – Go RVing is partnering with DreamWorks Animation to promote the family-friendly, animated movie The Wild Robot, which debuts in theaters Friday, Sept. 27.
The Wild Robot is based upon a popular children’s book series about a robot named Rozzum Unit 7134 (“Roz” for short), which finds itself stranded on an uninhabited island that is teaming with animal life. Left on its own in an unfamiliar environment, Roz forms a close kinship with the island’s animal inhabitants.
“While there are no RVs in the movie, there’s this underlying theme of getting back to nature, finding your nature and getting outside with friends and family and making those truer connections,” said Jeremy Greene, senior director of events and marketing for the RV Industry Association, which operates the Go RVing campaign with the RV Dealers Association. Additionally, the movie is based on a book series geared for children ages 8 to 12, so it meshes nicely with Go RVing’s marketing focus targeting young families with children, he added.
To promote the tie-in between film and Go RVing, the campaign has created a micro website (which can be accessed by clicking on this link) devoted to the film partnership with DreamWorks and is placing digital media ads that will target desired demographic groups, such as young families with children and people that are interested in the outdoors and/or travel, said Monika Geraci, RVIA industry spokesperson. Digital ads—including a mix of display ads, social media ads and video ads—began running on Sunday and will continue through Oct. 31.
“The first phase will be: see the movie coming to theaters. And then the second phase, once it’s in theaters, will be: go get tickets,” Geraci said. The Go RVing campaign has created a 30-second video that cross-promotes the movie and Go RVing, as well as shorter 15-, 10- and six-second spots. As part of that marketing campaign, a sweepstakes will run from Sept. 16 through Oct. 11 where consumers can sign up with Go RVing on the micro site to win prizes, including tickets for the film.
Geraci said the partnership with DreamWorks won’t cost the Go RVing campaign anything beyond what it was already spending, because the organization is simply redeploying existing media placements that were going to be used this fall.
“All of this is replacing what we already had in the market with new creative that’s also tying us to this cultural moment and really doubling down on the family audience,” she said. “So, it was a great opportunity for us to take what was already planned, switch up the creative and double down on an audience that we know is so important to the industry.”
So, how will Go RVing decide if it’s partnership with DreamWorks was worthwhile?
“There are a lot of metrics we’ll look at to determine how successful the partnership was on our end including microsite engagement and traffic from the microsite to GoRVing.com,” Greene said. “As Monika shared earlier, this wasn’t additional ads being placed by Go RVing; this was using existing inventory that we already had committed to, so I think the opportunity for ROI (return on investment) to be there is really strong because of that, especially given that it ties into a cultural moment that’s something families will be talking about.”
The partnership with DreamWorks came about after studio executives approached Go RVing, recognizing that it is a great brand to work with, Greene said. Officially, Go RVing is the ground transportation and outdoor hospitality partner for the film.
This is not the first time Go RVing has formed a promotional partnership with film studio, Geraci said, noting that the campaign previously partnered with Pixar Studios to promote Toy Story 4 (released in 2019) and with United Artists to promote The Addams Family 2 (released in 2021). She noted that RVs were prominently featured in both of those animated movies.
