The ‘reach’ for billboards attached or painted onto cars or trucks is one of the most
effective guerrilla marketing techniques. Companies have sprung up all over the world that
are doing this in very creative, and sometimes funny ways.
A few days ago I was in town near a Trader Joes grocery store. All of a sudden, I saw a car
with this huge, multi-colored sign, which read, ’Going Out of Business, All Furniture Deeply
Discounted, Friday-Saturday-Sunday, the phone number and address, Everything Must Go”.
These four lines each had a different color of red, orange, yellow or white on all four sides
of this cubicle car billboard. The ‘car board’ must have been about 3 ft. x 3ft. It certainly
caught my attention. Then another car showed up – a different model car with the same
cubicle. A Ford pickup truck showed up with the same billboard cubicle, however, the
cubicle was 3 times the size and was anchored in the truck’s bed. I couldn’t believe it. Then
another smaller car showed up with the same thing. They all parked on the curb of Trader
Joes for about 5 minutes, and then they dramatically spun away down the street. It was like
watching a parade. I thought to myself, “Wow, this is effective advertising.” They targeted a
highly trafficked store; therefore their method ended up actually being a form of low cost
canvassing. It was brilliant.
When you analyze this example, you find that the cost was probably nominal to the owner
of the furniture store. All he needed were some car billboards, which are in the range of
$200-$400 each, a good liability insurance policy and the permission of various cities to
advertise. You can hire private contractors to use their own car and gas. Running a 3-day
campaign probably cost him in the neighborhood of $1,460 per day. Lets break the cost
down further:
Car billboard (cost $300) $100 prorated/day
Private contractor ($25.00/hr. including gas) $200 (for 8 hrs.)
Liability Insurance Policy $15 prorated/day
City ordinance/permit fees $50
Total $365 x 4 = $1,460 spent per day
Now, the effectiveness all depends on how many people those billboards were able to
reach. If one car reached 30,000 views, on average 40% of them would write down the
number (12,000 people), 40% of those people would visit the furniture store (4,800
people) and approximately 20% of them would purchase a piece of furniture (960 people).
So, if 960 people bought a piece of furniture for the average price of $500, that’s $48,000 in
sales. Multiply that amount by 4 vehicles, and you discover that the store-owner could have
easily brought in $192,000. That’s not bad for a day of advertising.
Another angle to look at with this tactic is the car ‘Wrap.’ By turning your vehicle or other
people’s vehicles into mobile advertisements, you will have a large, highly visible and
noticed ad working for you no matter where the cars are. It’s also an easy way for others to
make some extra cash – by getting their car wrapped with your advertisement, they earn a
monthly income just for doing so. Take Misha di Bono, for example, who zips around in her
sport-utility car, which is painted for a local pizza company. She makes an easy $500 per
month including gas, just to drive her car. Misha said people used to make fun of her, but
they have stopped, especially the ones who are currently unemployed, according to an
article on CNN, June 19, 2008.
If we’ve peaked your interest and you want to know more, here are some companies that
offer various forms of car advertising:
www.bored.com (Get it?)
www.adsonwheels.com
www.toxel.com (Humorous billboards)
www.emsoutdoor.com
www.thumbtackbugle.com –Canvassing, handing out flyers, etc.
Car Billboard Advertising is HUGE
