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Hertz Social Media Campaign Wins Travel Industry Award


hertz (select to view enlarged photo)

-- Hertz Wins Travel + Leisure SMITTYS Award for "Best Use of a Social Media Platform" in the Car Rental Category --

PARK RIDGE, NJ--June 8, 2012:  The Hertz Corporation has won the first-ever Travel + Leisure Social Media + Tourism Awards (SMITTYS) for "Best Use of a Social Media Platform" in the car rental category for its 2011 "Gas and Brake" campaign. The award acknowledges leaders in the travel industry who use social media in innovative ways.

"We are honored to win the SMITTYand to be recognized by Travel + Leisure as a travel industry leader in social media," said Hertz Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mark P. Frissora. "The 'Gas and Brake' campaign is just one example of how Hertz is harnessing social media to communicate with the growing number of consumers who make travel decisions online."  

In May, 2011, Hertz launched the multi-faceted "Gas and Brake" campaign. The campaign cultivated a dialogue with Hertz customers by focusing on their driving and travel personalities based around the question, "Are you the Gas or the Brake?" Hertz included multiple social media elements to create engagement and stimulate conversation around the Gas and Brake theme, including an interactive microsite that featured:

  • The Gas or Brake Quiz with short questions to determine if visitors fit the travel personality of the "Gas" (more aggressive, exciting, and adventurous) or the "Brake" (conservative, reserved, a planner).
  • The Decider Game that allowed visitors to pick "Gas" or  "Brake" for their Facebook friends
  • Gas and Brake TV highlighting TV commercials and other campaign videos.

In addition, Hertz had a "Gas and Brake" Facebook App on the Hertz Facebook Fan Page that mirrored the microsite.

For the award, Travel + Leisure reviewed social media campaigns that ran during the 2011 calendar year based on submissions from various travel companies. The entries were submitted in three categories: Best Use of a Social Media Platform; Best Single Social Media Promotion; and Best Social Media Promotion of Travel Deals. A six-member panel of social media experts reviewed the entries and, for each category, ranked them based on factors such as originality, creativity, brand messaging, brand appropriateness, and engagement.