Sharon Feigon - I-GO Car Sharing
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Transcript of Sharon Feigon - I-GO Car Sharing
Promoting Market Innovation and Growth through Community – Based Marketing
Presentation to the BrandSmart
Conference
June 24, 2010
I-GO Background and Mission
➤ Brought car sharing to Midwest in 2002
➤ Non-profit, started by Center for Neighborhood Technology with support from City of Chicago
➤ Serving individuals, businesses, government, universities, and non-profits
➤ Extends the transit system
➤ Part of a network of non-profit / independent car sharing organizations, including Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Toronto
I-GO’s Mission:Reduce car ownership rates, decrease
transportation costs, reduce urban congestion and improve air quality in Chicagoland
neighborhoods
How it Works
➤ Become a Member
➤ Pick your rate Plan
Charge by the hour or the day
➤ Make reservation
➤ Gas, Insurance, Maintenance included
➤ 24/7 Call Center
Decentralized – Available close to home and work
35 Neighborhoods and6 Suburbs
How we differentiate from the competition
➤ Non-Profit
➤ Focused on triple bottom-line
➤ First to market
➤ All low emission vehicles
➤ Less expensive
➤ Serve more neighborhoods
➤ Coordinate with network of non-profits and independents
➤ Goal of innovation/cutting edge in sustainable transportation
The Big Challenge
The Challenge for I-GO when we started and now
➤New Category
➤New Behavior Anytime you are changing behavior, its
difficult and its expensive
Low budget and big ambitions
I-GO Goals
➤Grow to 15,000 over 5 years
➤Achieve significant cost savings
➤Achieve significant environmental benefits
➤Serve wide range of diverse neighborhoods
➤Become self-sustaining
➤Connect to the larger marketplace
Results as of 2010
➤ 15,000 members, 200 plus vehicles
➤ 35 neighborhoods, 6 suburbs
➤ Breakeven from operations
➤ 73% of I-GO members give up a car or postpone a purchase in conjunction with I-GO
➤ I-GO member cars taken off the road: 9,451
➤ Savings per car shedding member: $5,081.69
➤ Gross savings to members from all sources: $48,028,592
➤ 50% increase in biking, walking, and transit use
Challenges to Goals
➤High functional and emotional connection to car ownership Shift thinking Show emotional and functional benefits of car sharing
➤Inertia hard to overcome Give up car and change lifestyle Continue to use I-GO
US Car Culture
I am my car:
Functional and emotional attachment to cars
➤Functional Storage center
Direct route
Less time
➤Emotional Identity
Control
Freedom
Trends moving against those ideas
➤Congestion
➤High cost of gasoline and car ownership
➤Problems with oil extraction and scarcity of resource
➤Climate Change
➤Urban living becoming attractive to younger population
➤Service Use in lieu of Ownership Culture
I-GO: Address functional needs
➤ Many cars in the neighborhood
➤ Different kinds of cars
➤ Available one minute after make reservation
➤ Make it easy Include gas and insurance Self-service
➤ Affordable
➤ Smart phone, internet
➤ 24/7 Call Center
Address Emotional: I-GO Community
Segment Growing
➤Frost and Sullivan Report Between 2007 and 2009, car sharing
membership rose by 117 percent in North America.
The trend is expected to continue over the next five to 10 years.
Car sharing membership is expected to reach 4.4 million in North America and 5.5 million in Europe by 2016
Marketing Strategy: Addressing functional and emotional needs
➤Educate market about car sharing
➤Creating awareness about I-GO
➤Leverage partners and evangelists to drive buzz
➤Flexible programs
➤Give users sense of community and reinforcing benefits
Leverage Partners: Joint Smartcard with CTA
Leverage Partners
Visibility: Transit Campaign with I-GO Members
Transit Campaign
Education: News Coverage
Visibility: Events and Street Teams
Summer Festivals
Visible Car Locations and Signage
Evangelists: Member Party
Evangelists: Social Media
Success
➤ 15,000 members
➤ 200 plus vehicles
➤ 35 neighborhoods, 6 suburbs
➤ Roaming agreements with 10 cities
➤ Breakeven from operations
➤ High marks from Yelp and other reviewers
➤ Long-term partnerships with
Government and private sector
Challenges Ahead
➤ Essential Service: Need much larger scale– buzz has to be bigger
➤ Differentiation: Competition that is better funded
➤ New Markets: Grow to underserved and suburban communities
➤ New Products: electric vehicles and additional services
Leadership can change behavior