Santa Cruz and Ford
Giving Away A Ride

11/4/98
By Robyn Hakes

This season, if you're looking for a good mountain ride, check out the Ford Ranger. With the sale of every 4X4 during the months of December, January, and February, buyers will receive a free special-edition Santa Cruz snowboard.

This is the second year the snowboard company has been involved with this program, but the first year Santa Cruz has been represented statewide (last season Morrow boards were offered in SoCal).

For Ford the promotion offers an opportunity to improve its brand image and increase sales in the youth market. For Santa Cruz, it offers exposure on a wider scale than their marketing budget allows.

"We'll get TV exposure we'd never be able to afford with this program," says Rebecca Herath, marketing coordinator of Santa Cruz Snowboards.

The 230 Ford dealers will offer a 158 cm snowboard featuring Santa Cruz's best selling graphic, the Stinger, along with custom Ford colors. "Last year the boards we offered were what we carried in stock," Herath says, "so there was no way for us to tell if the promotion was having an impact on us. This year we'll be able to recognize the boards on the slopes."

Retailers are enthusiastic about this promotion, Herath adds, because it broadens public awareness of the Santa Cruz name. "Most people who buy our boards are people who already ride our product and are familiar with the brand. This program draws more beginners."

The TV advertising will use action footage by FLF Films featuring Santa Cruz riders such as Darren Cingel and Tracy Latzen. The company is allowed input on the ads and as Herath puts it, "We told them they absolutely can not use the word shred."

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