Fleetwood to Launch RV Vacation Club
Recreational vehicle manufacturer Fleetwood Enterprises will launch a vacation club for recreational vehicle fans this spring, a first for the RV industry.
The points-based Fleetwood Vacation Club treats RVs like time-share condos: Club members schedule to use a luxury RV for one or more weeks each year, for 10 years.
Fleetwood partners with vacation-exchange manager RCI to let Fleetwood Vacation Club members redeem Vacation Club points for stays at resorts in RCI’s network. Members also can redeem points for airfare, car rental, hotel stays, cruises, golf outings and tickets to theme parks via RCI.
Fleetwood named Michael Puntoriero president of the Vacation Club. He joined Fleetwood in May 2004; he had been a managing partner at Arthur Andersen.
The club targets consumers ages 25-55 who like driving vacations, and RV owners who would like to upgrade to a luxury motor home.
Fleetwood, Riverside, CA, based its target audience on new and existing research on vacationers’ preferences.
Direct-response TV, print, online and direct mail support the launch via Draft, Chicago. Draft also will create fulfillment kits, dealer merchandising and sales signage for the launch. ID Media handles media planning and buying.
Meanwhile, Fleetwood plans to appeal a court ruling that requires it to pay $14.6 million to The Coleman Co. in a dispute over Coleman’s right to license its brand name to another RV maker. Coleman planned to license its name to Coachmen Industries; Fleetwood filed suit, arguing that a 1989 agreement between its Fleetwood Folding Trailers division and Coleman gave Fleetwood exclusive rights to the name. The jury found in favor of Coleman in December, calling for a $5.2 million payment from Fleetwood; this week, the judge trebled damages to $14.6 million.
