A Shank's Mare Marketing Effort

Little in the world of retail is as competitive as selling used cars, where the slightest gimmick can mean a sale, online or off. So you have to hand it to CarDay.com - they just launched a guerrilla marketing campaign that has their employees out on foot, combing through parking lots looking for new business.

Employees at the New York City-based start-up are being asked to hunt for privately owned cars with "for sale" signs stuck in the windows. They leave 3 x 5 cards with the headline "Sell Your Car On CarDay, It's The Better Way" under the windshield wipers.

CarDay said its employees are checking their neighborhoods after work and on weekends for target vehicles -- cars that are less than 10 years old and have less than 100,000 miles.

"This guerrilla marketing campaign is an excellent way to target the private seller market at the point of decision, " said Dean Harris, CarDay's chief marketing officer. "The challenge for us has been to find private sellers at the right time, and this campaign helps us do just that."

CarDay is a brick and click used car sales operation in which privately owned cars are certified and sold with a minimum of a 6 month/6,000 mile limited powertrain warranty. CarDay takes four digital pictures, lists the car on its Web site, and promotes it via advertising. There is a $99 listing fee and CarDay receives a small percentage of the sale price only if the vehicle sells on CarDay.

The company incorporates a franchised network of real-world auto retailers and now operates in nine states -- New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.