Mobile Billboard advertising has many faces. When you think of a mobile billboard you may picture a semi truck hauling a trailer emblazoned with a massive logo. You may think of a car wrapped in branding from your favorite energy drink. If you really think outside the box, you may have thought of a simple bumper sticker that you saw while you were stuck in rush hour traffic or maybe a pickup truck with a familiar Garage Door company web address scrawled across the tailgate. Whatever the execution, one thing is clear, businesses know that mobile billboards on the road work.
If you're a small business with a small budget, the most customary mobile billboard methodology is going to be a bit out of your price range. The idea of putting an ad on a car has existed for almost as long as cars have, and marketing companies have carved out their own piece of that pie. Right now consumers are on years long waiting lists to earn their own piece of that aforementioned pie by way of getting their car "wrapped" with a local or national company's branding message. The reason they're willing to wait is simple: the minimum one can expect to make by offering their vehicle to one of these "car wrap" programs is a hefty $100 per month. That's the MINIMUM. It's no wonder that people are fighting for a chance. There are billions of dollars in the world of marketing and everyone wants a cut.
Being that the end consumer receives at least $100 per month to host an ad, imagine what the business is actually paying out to make it all happen. There's the cost to produce the artwork and the vinyl, as well as the cost to apply or "install" the ad on the vehicle. Then they pay each consumer who hosts their ad a minimum of $100 p/mo (which can go as high as near $750+ p/mo) finally, there's the ad agency's commission to consider. When all is said and done a business can expect to pay upwards of $1000 in set up fees per vehicle that hosts their ad and then a minimum of $250 - $800 per month to keep the ad on the road. If a given business wants between 50 to 100 ads rolling around, they can generally expect a hefty price tag. Of course, with that investment they receive daily direct marketing to each driver, which pretty much guarantee's acquisition of that driver (and his/her family) as a loyal customer. They can also expect some degree of word of mouth from the ubiquitous questions that will be directed toward the driver (why is your car a big ad? how much do you get paid for that? Do you like Red Bull or do you just advertise for them?). It goes without saying that the biggest gain with this method is the hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of impressions they get as the driver sits in traffic, drives to the store, to grandma's house and on road trips.
There is so much consumer interest in becoming an advertising partner. The thought of getting compensated for hosting an ad is so alluring that some new mobile billboard advertising companies have sprouted up with a new take on this method that makes it approachable to large and small businesses alike. New ideas include simply providing less to the "ad partner" such as deep discounts and occasional free gifts from the business who provided the ad. Also, companies have begun drastically shrinking the size of the ads which reduces the design and installation time, the cost of the ad itself and the awkwardness associated with driving a mobile ad. The viability of this kind of system is largely thanks to the changing landscape of business marketing. Prices for mass media such as network TV and radio advertising have become so inflated that smaller advertisers don't have the capital to compete with the big guys. Not only that, but the market is so saturated with ads, that there is a general conception that the average consumer is becoming numb to these types of ads either by simply "zoning out" or missing them entirely (TV watchers skip ads via TIVO and radio listeners are relying more heavily on their commercial free iPods for entertainment). The result of this phenomena is a hit or miss result after the tens of thousands have been spent. Also, the slumping economy has increased the need for EVERY consumer to find additional sources of income. With non-guaranteed returns on mass media dollars and people looking for any opportunity to save a dollar, it was inevitable that a new form of mobile billboard advertising would virtually create itself.
Such new programs offer businesses memberships for as little as $1000 per year which bring the cost of mobile billboard ads down to as little as a one time charge of $50 per ad. Typically, each ad is guaranteed for 6 months. After those fees, the only other costs are associated with providing the free and discounted services to the business's ad partners. This new type of system provides marketing features that are similar, identical or even better than the more conventional, expensive methods. These features include guaranteed customer acquisition, word of mouth and impressions. Additionally, companies on the rise that are offering these mobile billboard barter systems often seek a business's advertising partners by going door to door in the zip code of a business's choice. For big and small businesses alike, this method makes the medium more refined and targeted. Acquiring ad partners with door to door tactics also creates a direct marketing opportunity which is usually provided as added value to the business as long as the business provides the necessary materials (menus, coupons, literature, etc...).
Because the ads are smaller, they are usually placed in the most logical place such as on the rear windshield of the ad partner's vehicle. This location provides the best impression to motorists driving directly behind them at stop lights, in traffic and during the normal course of driving.
Vehicular billboard advertising has been around for a while. This type of marketing has gone through different phases and philosophies over time and can include any number of different solutions ranging from full car wraps to small bumper stickers. As consumer trends evolve and change, so do the advertising products that various ad agencies employ. While the car wrapping system isn't likely to fade away into obscurity, the small business's need for inexpensive advertising, consumer's needs to consume on a more sustainable level and marketing companies needs to stay competitive by generating creative advertising ideas has led inevitably, to newer effective advertising barter methods that take center stage in an ever crowded ad market.
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