Fast Facts

What
   Ad-wrapped vehicles used to target specific audiences, often using coupons and other promotions distributed by the drivers serving as brand ambassadors.

Who
   FreeCar Media, headquartered in Los Angeles with a second office in New York City.

How it works
   Campaigns are built around a type of vehicle chosen to appeal to a target audience. The vehicles are wrapped, staffed with coupon and sample-laden brand ambassadors, and then driven around specific sites.
   Wrapped cement trucks were used for the recent launch of Full Throttle, Coke’s new energy drink.
   “We try and match vehicles to the brand’s demographic,” says president Drew Livingston. “For Full Throttle, a blue-collar demographic was targeted. We wrapped 14 cement trucks for a one-month period, every three days going to a different market, educating consumers, sampling, handing out branded key chains, answering questions. Getting feedback from store managers as well as consumer feedback.”
   Other recent campaigns have included wrapped SUVs with ski racks on top parked at ski resort lift lines handing out hot chocolate, Tylenol Cold & Flu samples and branded hats and ice scrapers. Consumer data was captured through entries to a ski and snowboard giveaway.
   In New York City, replicas of Starbucks coffee cups were attached to the roofs of 10 unwrapped vehicles that traveled through traffic catching the attention of other motorists. “Traffic stopped because people kept getting out of their cars,” Livingston says. “It was huge all over New York.”
   Additionally, campaigns can be targeted consumer to consumer. For instance, if a client wants to reach soccer moms with two-plus children in the top 20 markets, drivers are identified in those markets, their cars are wrapped, they stick to their usual driving routines and other soccer moms are exposed to the message.
   The wrapped fleets, like the Full Throttle cement trucks, are called “dedicated touch point” campaigns. When an advertiser opts to target a specific group by wrapping the vehicles of members of that demographic the programs are called “consumer peer to peer,” or in the case of college campuses, “college peer to peer.”
   Creative is usually created in-house by FreeCar, Livingston says.
   Perforated window vinyl is used so the wraps can cover windows as well as the vehicle body. Graphics come in four, six and eight colors.
   Extensions can be used, but usually aren’t needed, Livingston says. “What you can apply to the design of the wrap is pretty much limitless, so usually it’s done without adding anything additional.”
   The majority of wraps entirely cover the vehicle except for roofs. “The exception is in cities like New York and San Francisco where you have folks looking down from office buildings,” Livingston says.
   Service is turnkey.

Markets
   “There’s never been a market we haven’t been able to deliver in,” Livingston says. “We have a database of over a million and a half drivers.”

How measured
   Impressions are calculated in two ways, Livingston says. “Our impressions are targeted. They’re not traditional out-of-home impressions.”
   The difference, Livingston says, is that everything in the campaign is tailored to reaching a specific audience, including routes they drive, stops they make, types of vehicles that are used and talking points about the product. Redemption rates on coupons and special promotions also provide data. Pre- and post-awareness studies are conducted as needed to supplement receipt data measuring increases in sales.

What product categories do well
   Advertisers are primarily national brands including everything from telecommunications to packaged goods to technology to insurance, Livingston says. “We’re all over the map as far as clients go. We work with pretty much any genre.” Tobacco is an exception.

Demographics
   Targeting specific groups is a cornerstone of the program, Livingston says.
   “For example, we target groups like soccer moms and pee wee football dads, ethnic groups like Latinos, college students and high school students.”

Making the buy
   Lead time varies because each campaign is unique, Livingston says. Campaigns generally take three to four weeks to get up and running.
   Pricing is customized. “Price points vary,” Livingston says. “There’s the number of markets, number of vehicles and length of campaign.”
   Production is provided at cost. Proof of performance is provided.

Who’s already on wrapped vehicles
   Esprit, Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, Napster, Nivea, City Bank, Harris Casinos, Hyatt, Qwest, Starbucks, Telemundo, Johnson & Johnson, Verizon and Kraft are recent advertisers.

What they’re saying
   “We wanted to target women primarily to generate awareness of the opening of an Esprit flagship store in New York City. We had six cars, two pods of three, in the Hamptons over Labor Day weekend with brand ambassadors on the beaches handing out gift bags. We picked the Hamptons because we wanted to target women who live in Manhattan and vacation in the Hamptons. The next weekend we had them in Union Square where the store is located. It was very successful. Our client was very happy.” – Sue Corbett, managing director of New York-based Poster Publicity which handled the Esprit campaign.

Web site info
   FreeCar Media at www.freecarmedia.com