An Auntie Anne’s franchisee in San Marcos, Texas, recently invested in an electric car as a promotional tool around the outlet center in which her franchise is located. Franchisee Lisa Fullerton collaborated with Texas State University’s American Marketing Association student chapter in purchasing the fuel-efficient car and driving it around the Prime Outlets at San Marcos, making deliveries and offering samples.
The Auntie Anne’s–branded electric car now makes pretzel stops during weekdays and weekends at six of the busiest locations at the expansive outlet center. A mini-menu is posted in the car’s window, and offers pretzels, pretzel dogs, pretzel stix, dips, lemonade, soda, and water.
Fullerton enjoys the clean air effect as well as the opportunity to market in a new way, and believes the car is a strong contributing factor to her 40% increase in sales this year. “I’ve never seen a person who didn’t smile when they saw it,” she says.
