Become a Billboard

South Africans are exposed to nearly 1 000 adverts every single day, but experts say that only about 80 of these are absorbed. In a media-cluttered world where consumers are constantly being bombarded with new messages, businesses have to find new ways to get their messages across.

“Advertising is about synergy. It has to work for everybody involved,” says Daniel Levy, chief executive officer of Popeye Wrap a Rental Media– a new concept which combines outdoor advertising with car rental.

Twenty eight-year-old Daniel and his business partner Ryan Silberman, 26, started the company in May last year while Daniel was practising as a lawyer and Ryan, the chief operations officer, was working as an industrial engineer.

The two left their lucrative careers to find ways of turning the traditional media world on its head and to find effective advertising channels. Daniel says that his experience in law exposed him to the inner workings of the business world, but media has always been his passion.

Customers can hire a rental car from Tempest Sixt Car Hire for about R155 a day, substantially lower than what most rental companies charge. The cars are also stocked with freebies and promotional material relevant to each customer’s lifestyle.

So what’s the catch?

Well, in exchange for the reduced rate you will have to act as a moving billboard. The car you hire is plastered with “funky” advertising and all you need to do is, well, drive it to wherever you are going.

“We effectively own the medium - the space on and in the rental cars. Advertisers pay us a fee, which secures them a panel of the car for a month. They can alter the size of their advert by buying as many panels on the car as their budget will allow,” Daniel says.

For just R100 a month, even small businesses can get “onto the car” – although this will only secure them the back of a wing mirror. But that wing mirror could be seen by as many as 20 000 people a day.

Even if the car is parked at the airport for the whole month without being rented, Daniel reckons that about half-a-million people will see it during the month.

“It’s an easy way for companies to get exposure in areas that are usually far more expensive – like airports or even beaches when the person hires it during their holiday,” Daniel says.

As a perk, companies that advertise on the vehicle will also receive a 15% discount for their corporate rentals through Tempest Sixt– the company that Daniel and Ryan decided to partner with.

Another offering to companies wanting to get exposure is to place promotional material – from new chocolates to beach umbrellas - inside the cars for a fee.

Popeye will launch its first twelve cars at the OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg on March 5, and then at the Cape Town and Durban international airports in the following months.

- Thomas Maclachlan - Sunday Times It's My Business  (16 Feb 2007)