Commuters in Driver’s Seat; Using Own Vehicles
to ’Drive’ Messages Home…and Back Again
Radial Outdoor Media Helps Advertisers and Commuters
Capitalize on Growing In-Vehicle Commute Time
Alexandria, VA — A fleet of 15 unmistakable white, red, yellow and black vehicles bearing universally recognized disaster symbols and roving around the national capital region are touting an area-wide emergency-preparedness campaign.
The initiative is the most recent promotional campaign supported by Radial Outdoor Media (www.goradial.com), a woman-owned, Alexandria, Virginia-based outdoor advertising company.
“Be Ready. Make A Plan” is a year-long educational and awareness campaign that encourages local residents to plan for a natural disaster or terrorist attack. It is sponsored by several Washington, D.C.-area county governments.
“A vehicle advertising campaign is a great option for companies of every size, not-for-profit organizations and political campaigns,” says Tatyana Schum, Radial Outdoor Media’s founder and a native Washingtonian.
The advertising model is effective, especially in the D.C. metropolitan area, which has the nation’s second-longest commute time with an average of 32 minutes.
“The nation’s capital has a high-income, highly educated consumer base but few cost-effective marketing options for penetrating that audience,” Schum says. “Local TV and radio advertising are cost-prohibitive. Conventional bus, train and transit-oriented kiosk advertising provide insufficient reach and are expensive. Also, there are few traditional billboards in the area, but they are static and surprisingly expensive.
Compared to these traditional advertising and marketing options, vehicle-based advertising is much more affordable. Radial Outdoor Media offers a superior advertising product that connects with the region’s more than 4.5 million residents who are 18 or older. It is an engaging and uninterruptable option. You can’t turn the dial, flip the page or switch the station. And, studies show it’s highly persuasive — it works!” Schum says.
Radial Outdoor Media doesn’t take all cars and drivers. It exclusively uses late-model vehicles that make attractive rolling billboards. “The emergency-preparedness campaign includes a Ford Focus, Honda Element, Jeep Patriot and Chevrolet Silverado,” says Schum, whose Honda Element is vinyl-wrapped in Tysons Tunnel’s highly recognizable “Under Not Over” branding. “We also look for drivers who are charismatic and excited to engage and persuade other consumers.”
As an added feature, advertisers can monitor their Radial Outdoor Media campaign online — 24 hours a day, seven days a week — through a global positioning system (GPS) that updates vehicle movements every two minutes.
Radial Outdoor Media pays local drivers up to several thousand dollars to use their vehicles to promote companies or causes for a year or more. These commuters-turned-brand-ambassadors drive their own vehicles to and from work, soccer practice, sporting events, the shopping mall, grocery store, everywhere! Additionally, they answer questions from passersby, distribute marketing materials and, sometimes, attend promotional events. The vinyl-wrap is fully removable at the end of a campaign when drivers can rewrap for another campaign.
When gas prices shot up to more than $4 per gallon last summer driver inquiries to Radial Outdoor Media tripled. Now there are more than 250 drivers available for upcoming campaigns. “We have a stable of drivers ready to take your company or organization’s name and message to consumers in the national capital region,” Schum says.
About Radial ProMotion Media, LLC: Founded in 2007, Radial ProMotion Media, LLC (www.goradial.com) is a woman-owned company that fills the void in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area outdoor advertising market. Vehicle advertising captures the attention of a growing population of roughly 4.5 million residents over the age of 18. Radial ProMotion Media, LLC provides advertisers in the national capital region a unique opportunity to market themselves to a captive audience of consumers that is spending more and more time “out of home”.
For more information: Alan Greilsamer/Communications Resources, LLC,
T: (703) 760-7007 / E: agreilsamer@communications-resources.com
