Special Report: Camp Jeep®

The Jeep® brand division of DaimlerChrysler recently won “Best Program Generating Brand Loyalty” in the Marketing Agency Association (MAA) Worldwide GLOBES Awards for Camp Jeep®, one of the nation’s largest and best-attended ownership gatherings. Camp Jeep was also awarded the same award at Promo Magazine’s annual PRO Awards in October.

MAA Worldwide honors the best marketing campaigns created by agencies from around the world at the annual GLOBES Awards, held this year in Miami, Fla. Camp Jeep was selected from 147 finalists from a record number of more than 1,200 entries from 28 countries.

“It is an honor to receive a GLOBES Award and a PRO Award. Jeep is a powerful brand with a high percentage of loyal owners,” said Lou Bitonti, Senior Manager – Brand Events, DaimlerChrysler Corporation. “We have had wonderful support from our Jeep owners and we love having them come back to different locations for Camp Jeep. We’re dedicated to raising the bar each year to create an event that reaches above and beyond owners’ expectations.”

Camp Jeep has received a PRO Award in the category of “Best Program Generating Brand Loyalty” for the past two years and was the first inductee into the PRO Awards Hall of Fame in 2001. The Hall of Fame recognizes Camp Jeep as a benchmark for measuring the success of customer relationship marketing events around the world. The unique consumer event has previously won PRO Awards for “Best Copywriting,” “Best Database Management,” and “Best Use of Direct Marketing.”

Promo Magazine is a trade publication serving executives in the $100-billion promotion industry. The PRO Awards recognize outstanding promotional marketing campaigns throughout the United States in 15 different categories.

Approximately 10,000 participants attended Camp Jeep 2002 in the Ozark Mountains, near Branson, Mo., July 25-27. Each day Camp Jeep commenced with special opening ceremonies featuring local organizations. There also were two live outdoor concerts. Pop-rock group Daryl Hall and John Oates kicked off the event and rock-‘n’-soul blues group The Blues Brothers (Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi) headlined the grand finale “Jeep Jubilee” concert.

Camp Jeep’s core activities include Jeep 101 driving courses, Jeep 4x4 trail rides, Rubicon Challenge Course, engineering roundtables, hiking, kayaking, outdoor survival skills, fly casting, children’s activities, spa services, yoga, an outdoor gourmet cooking school and numerous arts and crafts.

The Thrills and Spills Zone, a new hybrid sports arena, was added to the list of activities this year. This area featured sports activities that included skateboarding, mountain boarding, mountain and BMX biking and a snowboarding trampoline. Attendees were able to not only participate in these activities, but saw live demonstrations and received guided instruction from professional, Olympic-caliber athletes including Robbie Miranda, Kevin Gutierrez and Leigh Donovan.

To date, approximately 45,000 people from 48 states have attended Camp Jeep. From 1995 through 1998, Camp Jeep was held in Camp Hale, Colo., and from 1999 through 2001 in Nelson County, Va. Dates and locations for Camp Jeep 2003 will be announced in a separate release.

Camp Jeep is one of several owner-loyalty programs created by the Jeep Division of DaimlerChrysler. Jeep Jamborees, which began in the 1950’s, are the original off-road vacation. From the Maine Mountains to the famed Rubicon Trail, approximately 7,000 owners participate in the more than 30 Jamborees held each year. The excellent response to Camp Jeep led to the spin-off of Jeep 101 in 1997. Jeep 101 driving courses are offered in cities across the nation to provide owners and prospective owners basic skills of safe, yet adventurous off-road driving.

For more information about Camp Jeep visit www.jeep.com.