Park My Van [SMART 100, 2015]

This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.

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1. THE BEGINNING

This innovation initially came to life when…

Jethro was working for one of Australia’s largest campervan companies. He got the wheels in motion, but it wasn’t until meeting Kate, a budding entrepreneur and travel enthusiast, that he found a co-driver and the gears started changing.

The company has since developed into what you see here. Our mission is to bring the beaten track online. Whether you want to find a van, a park, a new journey or simply some inspiration, Park My Van is for you.

2. WHAT & HOW

The purpose of this innovation is to…

…solve two of the biggest problems in the industry:

1. Which van (or RV, campervan, motorhome or caravan) should you hire?
2. Where should you park it?

It does this by…

Park My Van currently compares over 30 van hire companies, and over 5,300 van park locations within Australia. This makes PMV currently the largest online provider of verified listings and one of the biggest sites in the industry.

By being able to compare over 30 van hire companies, the individual features of each van can be analysed to suit different travelers’ needs.

3. PURPOSE & BENEFITS

This innovation improves on what came before because…

Currently to book, you would have to search online with a number of different sites. Additionally, they have to call and email accommodation park providers directly for availability and price. Vanners have to navigate various sites to book campervan rentals, insurance and other vanning needs. The biggest parking problem for vanners is locating all verified accommodation options. Vanners want choice.

Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…

It helps find the cheapest or best suited vans for hire, low-cost, animal-friendly or even family focused parks. Park My Van has also created a new market for hostels and B&Bs. With PMV, they now offer a formal arrangement to these transactions.

4. COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

In the past, this problem was solved by…

…camps books that featured all verified places to park. We have simply brought these online and introduced the idea of shared economy.

For van hire comparisons, there are other sites now. What makes us most different is our inclusion of smaller family based hire companies and UX.

Its predecessors/competitors include…

Our competitor in the park space is turu.com.au. It’s a great site but only includes caravan parks. In the van hire comparison space, there are some options but they tend to not offer live bookings or feature all van hire options.

5. TARGET MARKET

It is made for…

PMV is primarily for retiring domestic younger Baby Boomers and Grey Nomads (aged 55-70) and for van hires, it is mainly international backpackers (aged 18-35). Although these are our main segments, the core customer is product-related and evidently anyone travelling Australia on the road.

It is available for sale through…

…our website parkmyvan.com.au

Our marketing strategy is to…

For our parks, most of our traffic is organic but we also use many paid/free online marketing channels, with particular focus on optimizing ads. We also have a strong offline marketing strategy with our pink promo van and bimonthly road-trips.

FINE PRINT: This SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity.