Budget works to “outsmart” Hertz with Blog marketing strategy

Articles in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal today outline how Hasbro and Budget Rent a Car are moving into non-traditional media like blogs to deliver their messages.

Considering (as we reported last week) ad space in the major portals has become extremely expensive and to some degree unavailable, leveraging the less expensive yet highly influential audience that bloggers serve seems like a smart plan to me.

Budget’s agency Impax Marketing Group and consultant BL Ochman executed on a campaign that featured a scavenger hunt which was promoted largely through blog ads.

Scott Deaver, executive VP for marketing at Cendant (which oversees Budget and Avis) said “I can’t outspend Hertz, but I can outsmart them.” He continued “We’ll certainly be back in this space.”

What is most valuable about nontraditional media like blogs, Deaver said, is their ability to “actively engage the consumer,” compared with what he called passive TV spots and other traditional choices.