The following press release from Enterprise Holdings details National Car Rental's new marketing campaign.

In a new advertising campaign that launched April 2 in The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, there is no doubt about the ascent of National Car Rental among business travelers and the brand’s premier status in the car rental industry.

Specifically designed to increase awareness of National’s strong position in the competitive marketplace, the campaign highlights four elements that clearly differentiate the brand throughout the United States: customer satisfaction, leading in loyalty (through its Emerald Club), accelerating market share growth and earning more business. The initial campaign will extend through mid-summer.

“National has a long history that includes many ground-breaking firsts and big successes as well as many challenges and setbacks along the way,” stated Matt Darrah, executive vice president of North American operations for Enterprise Holdings, which acquired the National Car Rental brand in 2007. “Today, largely due to National’s dedicated employees and a continuing commitment to excellence by National’s new owners, the brand has emerged stronger than ever. In fact, we developed this campaign to help educate key stakeholders about National’s impressive progress and the brand’s renewed focus on exceeding the expectations of demanding business travelers from coast to coast.”

Companies such as Ingersoll Rand have enhanced their agreements with National during the past few years relying on Emerald Club’s conveniences and time-savers. “National’s level of service complements our managed travel program,” said Tom Barrett, director of strategic sourcing-travel, fleet, legal and compliance at Ingersoll Rand. “Our employees genuinely appreciate and value the ability to bypass the rental counter and select their own vehicles, which, in turn, helps improve their productivity in both local and airport markets.”

Customer Service Efforts

Almost three years ago, National Car Rental, along with Alamo Rent A Car, was acquired by privately held Enterprise Holdings, which has owned and operated the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand since 1957. Immediately after the acquisition, Enterprise Holdings began researching and exchanging best practices across the brands.

For instance, the National brand now reports a Service Quality index, based on Enterprise’s well known ESQi program, to ensure that employees make a positive impression on each customer. Meanwhile, National has maintained its Brand Integrity Audit program and continues to evaluate every location for customer service; bus service and condition; counter, return and exit booth service; brand image; facilities and wait times; and vehicle cleanliness and condition.

“Such ongoing attention to detail represents the heart and soul of our overall customer service effort at the airport,” explained Darrah. “We are always upgrading facilities, refreshing our fleet, auditing policies and procedures, and looking for opportunities to improve the customer experience. We believe customers notice the difference, even during extremely challenging economic times.”

Evidence can be found in the results of a leading independent consumer study, which surveyed almost 13,000 individuals who rented vehicles at North American airports during 2009. The study focused on six categories of service: reservation process, pick-up process, rental car, shuttle bus/van service, return process, and costs and fees. The top two rankings went to Enterprise Holdings brands – Enterprise Rent-A-Car and National Car Rental.