We live in a world filled with advertisements. We see them on the tv, in magazines, on bus stops, on buses, at movie theaters, in schools, in public restrooms. They are all around us. Now, you will see advertisements on rental cars too.
Would you drive a car covered with advertisements?
Budget Rent-a-Car has launched a new pilot program in Atlanta. They will cover red SUVs in an advertisement for Sheets Brand Energy Strips. In return for driving an SUV covered in advertising, Budget customers will pay roughly ¼ the amount to rent a car that they would pay without the advertising. One customer rented an SUV with advertising for four days to drive to Florida. The regular price would have been almost $300, but the price dropped to $90 because she chose the car with advertising.
This arrangement seems like a win-win situation for all parties. Budget potentially could earn many new clients who specifically rent from their company to get the discounted rates. The customers get to enjoy reduced rates to rent cars, which is certainly a perk in this economy and with the current gas prices. The advertiser, rather than paying for a billboard along the highway, gets a moving advertisement on each rental car.
Advertising on cars is not a new phenomenon. In the personal sector, this has been happening for several years now. Free Car Media, a non-traditional marketing company, pays individuals an average of 300 to 600 dollars a month to drive their own personal car that has been wrapped with an ad.
Individuals sign up online, and if there is an advertiser in that location looking to advertise, the person may be chosen to have their car wrapped. The person has the right to turn down a company they do not want to advertise for, but if they agree to participate, they have no say in what the ad will look like or how much of their car will be covered. However, the program is very small currently due to low advertiser demand. Free Car Media is just wrapping up a program that utilized 10 to 20 cars.
Preference is usually given to individuals who drive several hundred miles monthly, who live in a large city near the target audience for the product and who will agree not to park their car in a garage so the ad can be seen 24 hours a day. Free Car Media is just one of several companies offering this service.
Cars are an untapped market with limitless potential. There are only so many buses to advertise on across the country, but cars? There are millions of cars. We are used to advertisers making money from consumers, but with this trend, consumers could be making money from the advertisers.
Is this to be the newest trend for cash strapped American citizens? My husband and I heard about this idea several years ago and looked into having our car wrapped in advertising. However, we never actually applied to the program because I didn’t think I wanted to be gawked at every day as I drove my car. Perhaps if this advertising medium becomes more popular, it won’t elicit so many stares.
Would you be willing to drive a rental car with advertising on it to lower the amount you pay for the rental? Would you want to have advertising on your car to earn a few hundred dollars a month? Does advertising on your car seem to have potential, or do you just think it obnoxious?
It would certainly be tempting. My wife would be perfect for this. We have 83,000 miles on our 2 year old Suburban driving kids all over town to sporting events. I don’t know if she would like all the attention, though.
Melissa and Glen, you’re timing is great, I just wrote a post about the exact same thing! And my answer is heck yeah! I’d drive a wrapped rental car in a heartbeat. And if I could find a good program to do it at home I’d do that too! The dollar amount of saving is just too great to care what anyone else thinks.
No problem if there is enough savings! Can I chose the car/advertisement?
You can turn down an advertiser you don’t like, but once you agree to advertise, you can’t choose the design. Most often it goes right on your own car.
I think it depends on what the advertisement was for. Seems like a big risk for Budget and the advertisers. What is someone is a bad driver? I would consider it though. But not on my own car. I’m already advertising for the car brand!
I would do it. If it pays what it says it pays. Im a single mom and bringing in extra money is great