| "For a limited time only!” “Exclusively available right here!” “Not sold in any store!” These tired catch phrases used to be associated with late-night TV pitches for the latest Pocket Fisherman or Dial-O-Matic. But not anymore. The newest purveyors of exclusivity are mostly offline companies that hawk special goods and deals online only.
Want the just-introduced Volkswagen Beetle chassis colors? How about early-release tickets to MTV concerts? Looking for customized Nike sneakers, a made-to-order Barbie, or Gap-label maternity clothes? All can be found only on the Web.
Brick-and-mortar companies have seized the exclusively-online strategy for a number of reasons. Some use it as a limited test market for new products; others as an alternative sales channel that won’t conflict with current distributors. Others use it to gather customer information, such as preferences and aversions, and some use exclusivity to kick-start sales.
But the common link is the buzz. It’s that mercurial coolness quotient — the Holy Grail of marketing. “Part of the game is that, even though 98 percent of your business may be offline, you get the image of being online — of being there and being relevant to your customers — without really having to be an Internet company,” says Richard Christner, a vice president at Mercer Management Consulting in Washington, D.C.“
For Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Volkswagen of America, online-only promotions are aimed at capturing more young, hip Beetle customers. This year, it offered 2,000 Beetles in two colors — Reflex Yellow and Vapor Blue — available only online. The company pushed the promotion with a multimillion-dollar TV and print ad campaign that boasted, “Only 2,000 available. Only online.”
Volkswagen says the offer was a natural for the company; its typical customer syncs up perfectly with the typical Internet user, according to Liz Vanzura, VW’s director of marketing. Tailor-made
The introduction of exclusive products also could tap the as-yet-unfulfilled promise of one-to-one Internet marketing. Companies could cost-effectively create, market, and sell specific niche products to just a few people. “It’s a great marketing technique because the future of advertising is dictated by the future of marketing; and the future of marketing is being able to serve a smaller and smaller audience,” says Jim Nail, a Forrester Research online advertising strategy analyst. | 
