What do Mt. Everest and LeAnn Rimes have in common? They're both in the arsenal of promotional tie-ins currently being used by DaimlerChrysler to promote the 2002 Jeep Liberty. Camp Jeep took place last week and was highlighted not by the newest member of the Jeep family, but by a performance by country start LeAnn Rimes. Here's a snippet from the official press release: Camp Jeep® 2001: A Family Gathering promises to be the ultimate family summer camp for the ``go anywhere, do anything'' Jeep® owner. It will be a three-day, action-packed adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains at the historic Oak Ridge Estate near Charlottesville, Va., from July 26-28. Participants will be among the first to experience the all-new 2002 Jeep Liberty and its legendary off-highway capability and exceptional on-road ride and handling. In addition, country/pop singer LeAnn Rimes will be the headline entertainment at the Saturday night extravaganza which brings the event to a close. ``Every year there are new and exciting activities for the whole family to enjoy at Camp Jeep. With the addition of the all-new Jeep Liberty and the talented LeAnn Rimes, this year's Camp promises to be the best ever,'' said Lou Bitonti, Senior Manager Jeep Brand Global CRM, DaimlerChrysler Corporation. ``Camp Jeep is a chance for the whole family to share excitement and adventure in a beautiful and historic place. It has brought a taste of the Jeep lifestyle to nearly 30,000 participants over its six-year history. Last year, more than 8,500 Jeep enthusiasts from 44 states attended the event and we expect the event to be sold out again this year.'' And what about Mt. Everest, you ask? It seems that internationally knows mountain climber, Eric Simonson, also appeared at the 3-day Camp Jeep, to detail his lastest expeditions on the world's highest peak. Here's a snippet from the full announcement: One of the world's foremost leaders in mountaineering, Eric Simonson, will detail his latest Mt. Everest climb at Camp Jeep® 2001 on Friday, July 27. Simonson, who has lead more than 80 expeditions to the world's highest peaks, will host two presentations on his historic Mt. Everest discoveries. His Camp Jeep appearance is part of the ultimate family summer camp for the ``go anywhere, do anything'' Jeep® owner. Simonson's most noted expedition occurred in 1999, when he uncovered the body of legendary climber George Leigh Mallory and his 1924 base camp at 27,000 feet. George Mallory and Andrew Irvine disappeared on June 8, 1924, while trying to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. The camp's discovery was reported in headlines around the world and inspired two major television documentaries, four feature-length books, and two National Geographic museum exhibits. Unless you've been living in a cave for the past month or so, it's been difficult to miss the huge advertising campaign that DaimlerChrylser has been pushing for the Jeep Liberty. We've seen at least 3 Liberty commericals (Eagle eyes, moving trees, earthquake) and numerous multipage layouts in outdoors magazines. We've also spotted their sponsorship of ESPN's "Great Outdoors Games (those tree climbing competitions are wild!) not to mention the numerous outdoor billboards. One place where we were surprised to see the Liberty advertised was on our Palm Pilot! It seems that DaimlerChrysler has hooked up with AvantGo (if you have a Palm Pilot and don't know about AvantGo, then stop reading this now and go to www.AvantGo.com), for a 2 month wireless advertising campaign. Here's the details from AvantGo: AvantGo, Inc., the leading provider of mobile infrastructure software and services, today announced that the Jeep® brand, a division of DaimlerChrysler Corporation, will be conducting a two-month wireless advertising campaign for the all-new Jeep Liberty on the AvantGo mobile Internet service. The new customer acquisition and brand awareness campaign kicks off today. By advertising on the AvantGo service, the Jeep brand is taking advantage of a targeted demographic, uncluttered advertising environment and click-through rates of up to five times higher than traditional Web-based banner advertising. The Jeep brand will be collecting information and an e-mail address from potential new customers in the form of a mobile device questionnaire. ``Wireless is an increasingly important part of any digital marketing strategy. This is especially true in the case of our all-new Jeep Liberty,'' said Diane Jackson, Jeep Brand, Marketing Communications. ``AvantGo has helped make wireless advertising an attractive and easy way to build brand awareness and reach the younger, more technologically savvy Jeep Liberty buyer. This is the first wireless advertising campaign for the Jeep brand, and we believe that it strongly supports our traditional advertising initiatives by placing our message in front of our target in a new way.'' Gee, they wouldn't be trying to reach the Jeep-techno-geeks types that read this site, would they???
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