Thrifty Car Rental 2010 Annual Report Download - page 14

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strategic marketing partners, and investments in traditional and emerging distribution channels.
Each of these disciplines has a specific focus on selected customer segment opportunities.
Strategic Marketing Partners
Dollar and Thrifty have aligned themselves with certain strategic marketing partners to facilitate the
growth of their business.
Dollar has strong relationships with many significant international tour operators and brokers who
specialize in inbound travel to the U.S., as well as domestic tour operators, who generate inbound
business to Hawaii, Florida and other leisure destinations.
Major travel agents and consortia operate under preferred supplier agreements with Dollar and
Thrifty. Under these agreements, Dollar and Thrifty provide travel agency groups additional
commissions or benefits in return for featuring Dollar and Thrifty in their advertising or giving Dollar
and Thrifty a priority in their reservation systems. In general, these arrangements are not exclusive
to Dollar and Thrifty.
Both Dollar and Thrifty have also developed strategic partnerships with certain hotels, credit card
companies, and with most U.S. airlines through participation in airline frequent flyer programs. In
addition, Dollar and Thrifty actively participate with our partner airlines in their respective branded
Web sites.
Internet Marketing and Distribution Channels
Dollar and Thrifty focus on Internet advertising and marketing, which continues to be the most cost-
efficient means of reaching travel customers. Dollar and Thrifty promote their respective brands via
Internet banner advertising, keywords and rate guarantees to encourage travelers to book
reservations on their own branded sites, dollar.com and thrifty.com. In addition, Dollar and Thrifty
both continue to make technology investments in their respective Web sites, dollar.com and
thrifty.com, to provide enhancements to best meet their customer’s changing travel needs.
In 2010, in an effort to improve forecasting about customer transactions, Dollar and Thrifty began
integrating customer transactional data with an email marketing program to deliver relevant
messages to subscribing customers at the optimal time, with a view to increasing customer
engagement and maximizing revenue. The Company believes that this type of integration can
increase the interaction between customers and the brands while expanding customer loyalty and
increasing revenue. Additionally, dollar.com and thrifty.com launched a time saving online check-in
function and implemented a content delivery network to streamline the reservation process.
Dollar and Thrifty are among the leading car rental companies in direct-connect technology, which
bypasses global distribution systems and reduces reservation costs. Dollar and Thrifty have entered
into direct-connect relationships with certain airline and other travel partners.
In addition, Dollar and Thrifty are featured with numerous national online booking agents where
customers frequently shop for travel services and are in regular discussions with owners of other
emerging travel channels to secure inclusion of the Dollar and Thrifty brands in those channels.
Dollar and Thrifty have made filings under the intellectual property laws of jurisdictions in which they
and their respective franchisees operate, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, to protect
the names, logos and designs identified with Dollar and Thrifty. These marks are important for
customer brand awareness and selection of Dollar and Thrifty for vehicle rental and for dollar.com
and thrifty.com for reservation services.
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