ShareThisBy LAURA LAYDEN
Sunday, November 19, 2006
You can't hit the TV remote and tune them out.
You can't wipe them out with TiVo.
You can't close your eyes and look away, or you might get in an accident.
Welcome to the age of mobile advertisements. It's a growing trend that is expanding nationwide. Trucks take to the road every day, and their drivers carry nothing but advertising. For local businesses, it's a new way to reach customers.
It's like a moving billboard.
"We actively seek out the traffic jams," said Jon Vredevoogd, a principal owner with Mantis Mobile Media Inc. in Fort Myers, Fla.
His company has two lime green trucks with state-of-the-art scrolling billboards running from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily in Lee County.
The company, whose mascot is Manni the Mantis, promises to offer "extreme impact," "extreme exposure" and "extreme value." Eight drivers work in shifts and follow the most heavily traveled routes, giving advertisers the most exposure.
The trucks have hit the road in the last two months. During peak hours, they can be spotted on major roads, such as U.S. 41.
The firm chose the brightly colored trucks "to keep the shock-and-awe factor really high," Vredevoogd said.
"We looked at all the mobile billboard choices out there and we went with the one that would deliver the most reaction from potential customers for our clients," he said. "The more people that are impressed at the way our vehicle looks, the more people will look at the ads on that vehicle."
Several companies offer mobile advertising in Southwest Florida, following a trend that started in metropolises such as New York and Los Angeles. The trend is part of the reason the Outdoor Advertising Association of America projects the industry could see double-digit growth over the next few years, as businesses look to find new ways to reach consumers who have become ever more elusive. In 2004, companies spent an estimated $5.8 billion on outdoor ads of all kinds, including billboards.
A study by the Transportation Advertising Council of America found that outdoor mobile billboards have a more than 90 percent recall rate.
Nearly a year ago, Jon McLeod and his partner Kevin Morrison put two mobile advertising trucks on the road in Southwest Florida. They claim they can reach more than 1 million people monthly with their mobile signs. Until a few weeks ago, the Bonita Springs-based business operated as part of a national franchise under the name Gotcha Mobile Media. But it's now independent, and goes by the name Mobile Exposure.
"With DVRs, Tivos and satellite radio, people can avoid watching and listening to commercials. So advertisers need a new way to get their message to people and I thought this was a great way of doing it," McLeod said. "Let's face it. Do you really want to watch the commercials if you don't have to? This world has gotten so busy that people would rather watch a 30-minute show in 20 minutes," he said.
There is a learning curve for advertisers, McLeod said.
"Advertisers find it an interesting concept. As with anything new we are met with some resistance. We get asked, 'What do you put in the back of the truck?' Well, it's nothing," he said.
McLeod has started doing more of the driving himself, and it's saving him 70 percent on his gas bill, he said. Some drivers have had too heavy of a foot. He said he's driving "more conservatively and smarter."
For competitive reasons, he didn't want to say where his trucks go every day. They pass by malls, strip shopping centers, industrial parks, financial centers and other popular hangouts.
"We've got a number of routes we travel," McLeod said. "But we never travel the same route on the same day."
In that way it's not like a roadside billboard.
"I don't want my truck at the same intersection at the same time every day," McLeod said. "Then it kind of becomes part of the landscape and that defeats the purpose."
The trucks have "tri-vision" technology, which allows them to carry three signs on each side of the truck, for a total of 12. Slats in the signs rotate every few seconds, grabbing the attention of drivers as they flip. Other trucks running in Southwest Florida can carry as many as 20 advertisements on one side. But McLeod said that gives advertisers less exposure.
In mobile advertising, prices can range from $500 to $10,000 a month, depending on the truck and the advertising campaign businesses choose, he said.
"For $10,000 a month, you can own the whole truck," McLeod said.
