Client: Dollar Dry Dock Savings Bank of New York and Regency Development

Background
Regency Development is a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate & development firm serving financial institutions and the private investment community. Initially Regency Development was enlisted by Dollar Dry Dock Savings Bank of New York to redevelop a financially troubled high-rise property near LAX. The previous owners had defaulted on their loan and the bank was now in danger of losing $30-million if the property could not be turned around and become profitable. The realization that the high-rise building was originally constructed with insufficient and cumbersome parking was at the root of the problem. A solution to the parking problem was not possible within the structure itself. It was therefore necessary to look elsewhere for parking.

Parking is already in short supply near LAX and the solution was to acquire an adjacent property and develop it as a parking structure in order to return the original high-rise property into a viable business proposition. However the new parking structure required an investment of another $30-million. This investment would have to be justified. McFarlin Group was enlisted to develop the marketing program for this new parking structure to enable this business to prosper on its own.

Objective
To develop an entirely new airport parking service offering, with a brand identity and positioning that would have broad appeal to the traveling public, and to design a marketing program to launch WallyPark as the best known and preferred LAX parking facility.

Program Implementation
We designed a multi-faceted marketing and public-relations program, targeting both frequent flyers and leisure travelers, which would position WallyPark as a unique and attractive offering, including:

• The development of a product identification system to make WallyPark stand out in the minds of consumers;
• A press kit and news releases that were prepared for an initial news media "blitz";
• A grand-opening event in which members of the news media were invited to preview WallyPark;
• A memorable radio advertising campaign to increase awareness of WallyPark;
• A trade campaign including trade-publication print advertising and regular editorial exposure through ongoing press releases;
• Direct marketing program to frequent flyers which included promotional offers and third-party endorsements; and
• Cross-promotions which included insertion of WallyPark promotional offerings in most major airlines’ ticketing packets at LAX.

In Los Angeles and surrounding communities, where people virtually live in their automobiles and at a time when consumers were inundated by "designer" everything, we positioned WallyPark as the world’s first “designer” parking facility offering more services and amenities than any other parking lot around the LAX area.

Special services included guaranteed reserved parking space 365 days a year, instant radio-controlled luxury WallyShuttle, courteous valet parking attendants, telephone, Internet and facsimile service.

The product identification system we developed included special "WallyGuard" pads, installed between parking spaces, to prevent those annoying dents and dings that often occur when parking at the terminal or in remote lots. Frequent flyers were encouraged to join WallyClub for additional services and offerings.

Results
The grand-opening was attended by news representatives of ABC, NBC and CBS, among others, to get a glimpse of the latest "designer" phenomenon. Television and radio news coverage was extensive including feature stories on the evening news by all major networks for several nights following the grand-opening. ABC provided a national feed to the Good Morning America show. Feature articles appeared in news print across the country including USA Today, Los Angeles Times, NY Times and many more.
The business plan for WallyPark originally called for 70% capacity by the beginning of year two. We reached 80% capacity within 90 days!

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