HSBC Restarts Drive Free Challenge

HSBC Bank's vintage Checker Cab fleet will hit the streets of New York again, this time to activate its sponsorship of a golf tournament and a coinciding contest dangling another vintage vehicle.

This 1966 VW Microbus is the grand prize in HSBC's contest

The HSBC Drive Free Challenge begins today to promote its sponsorship of the Women's World Match Play Golf Tournament, June 30 through July 3 at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, NJ.

In addition to the cabs, the campaign employs in-branch displays, street teams, radio remotes and online ads to generate buzz and drive people to the HSBC Web site and to a local Paragon Sports stores for the chance to win a mint-condition 1966 VW Microbus.
Once at Paragon Sports, consumers will attempt a shot at the HSBC Drive Free golf simulator. The four entrants whose drives are closest to the pin will be brought to the tournament site in July for a final swing on a real golf course. The person closest to the pin there will win the 1966 VW Microbus. Additional prizes include hats, visors, golf umbrellas and tickets to match play.

The fleet of four cabs—which includes two Checkers, a London Taxi and a VW Microbus—will be seen by millions of New Yorkers. The street teams, dressed in old-fashioned golf attire, will interact with thousands more, said Renegade Marketing Group CEO Drew Neisser, whose New York City agency handles the month-long promotion.

"We all fell in love with the Microbus when we saw it and decided that it would make a distinctive grand prize reinforcing the overall message of the Drive Free Challenge," Neisser said. "The Microbus has been a prize winner at collector shows so the lucky winner will take possession of a truly special vehicle."

This is the third year that HSBC and Renegade used vintage cabs as part of a promotion. Last year's promotion, a trivia contest for cabbies designed to build brand awareness in The Big Apple, was a finalist for the 2004 PRO Awards in the Best Idea category.

Three hundred cabbies entered its BankCabbie search, and 10 finalists were chosen to test their local knowledge in a Times Square event. Winner Johnny Morello won a seven-month contract to drive the HSBC BankCab, which gave free rides to New Yorkers with an HSBC bank card or checkbook.

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