By Jack Rosenberger
Project Editor

he North American International Auto Show is the world's largest automotive extravaganza geared toward journalists. Each January, some 5,000 members of the media attend the annual event in Detroit, where automakers vie for the attention of the press.

As such, DaimlerChrysler wanted the 1999 promotional kit for its Dodge R/T series to be visually gripping a well as informative.

Driving success
Historically, Dodge's R/T series had been known for its legendary muscle cars such as the Challenger and Charger. Today, the series includes vehicles ranging from flashy compacts to mammoth sport-utility vehicles.

For the 1999 auto show, the Dodge R/T promo kit's box measured 91/4x91/4x172", the cover of which features an illustration of a rapidly climbing speedometer needle. The kit contains six folders. The first supplies an overall history of the R/T series. Each of the additional folders is dedicated to an individual vehicle: Neon, a compact "pocket rocket," as the company describes it; Intrepid, a robust sedan; Durango, a high-performance SUV; Dakota, a compact yet powerful pickup truck; and the Viper, Dodge's latest contribution to American sports car icons.

Each folder contains two pockets, with the left containing a three-panel brochure detailing each vehicle's history and technical specifications, and the right holding a black folded page with four color slides.

For Inland Press, the Detroit-based firm charged with printing the piece, the toughest aspect of this job was meeting an ultra-tight deadline. Inland received the finalized copy for the kit two weeks before the project's January due date.

"The schedule was terrible," says Inland Press chief executive and president Brad Thompson. "We worked holidays, weekends, and late hours. It's our busiest time of the year."

Thompson says that Inland made the deadline largely for two reasons. First was the design firm, Gyro Design, Detroit, which Thompson lauds as "a client from heaven. Skip Davis, the principal, immediately involved us with the project," he says.

"People, skills, technology"
The second reason was having the right people working on the project in the printing plant. Says Thompson, "They make it happen. Our motto is 'people, skills, technology.'"

Inland printed 1,000 copies of the R/T kit using a six-color Heidelberg press with aqueous coater. The presentation box is made of Springhill 18-pt. double-coated gloss paper, while the folders are printed on Mead Matrix 100-lb. gloss cover. Beckett Ridge 80-lb. black cover stock is used for the kit's informational brochures and Potlatch's McCoy 100-lb. gloss cover holds the slide holders.

John Christian Bindery, Warren, Mich., performed the binding and diecutting.

Journalists liked modularity
"We received a very good response to the R/T kit," says Mike Rosenau, a senior manager of Dodge-product and brand public relations at DaimlerChrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. "The kit is glossy, colorful, and in your face. Plus, it stressed our overall message of performance, handling, and affordability. Journalists were pleased that they could build off the kit. They appreciated its modularity."

The R/T kit also won Inland Press unexpected publicity. The judges at the Detroit Club of Printing House Craftsmen's 11th annual award show bestowed a Gold Award upon the kit.

In addition, it won the much-coveted People's Choice award. Thompson says he is especially pleased about this particular award because the winner is chosen by one's peers.

"We're not a big contest-type company," says Thompson, who says that he submitted 10 entries only after the show's organizers told him that Inland Press had been "noticeably absent" at past events. Despite competing against a record number of entries, nine of Inland's entries won awards, adds Thompson. Inland garnered two additional Gold awards, one for a technical publication for Dodge and the other for a promotional brochure for Volvo.

Reprinted from GRAPHIC ARTS MONTHLY September 2000
©2000 by CAHNERS BUSINESS INFORMATION