Get paid to drive your car on busy routes |
|
Network this!
Motorists may soon have the chance to benefit from driving on busy Dubai roads if an advertising system in the United States is replicated here.
In the US, motorists are paid to drive their car and sometimes given a vehicle to use for free by advertising agencies. The agencies require motorists who drive more than 800 miles (1,287km) a month along heavily populated routes to use their cars to convey their advertising messages in a highly competitive and over-crowded media scene.
In Dubai, this has been limited to commercial vehicles, and private car owners have to pay a fee to the municipality for even wrapping the car in their choice of imagery. The UAE does not allow the use of private vehicles for the commercial purpose of advertising.
"It may not be a feasible idea for Dubai, as the municipality and the Roads and Transport Authority charge us a fee for wrapping public transport buses, and to pay the private car owners will only add to the cost," said Aldrin Fernandes, Chairman and Group CEO of Concept, which is a key player in the outdoor media market.
"Outdoor publicity is a very effective medium," said Fernandes. "In a place with such a diverse population, outdoors provide a media exposure without any distraction," said Fernandes.
However, Manoj Matthews, of another outdoor advertising agency, was optimistic about the concept. "Considering that we are fast running out of outdoor options in the emirate, this may catch on very fast," said Matthews. "Of course, numbers have to make sense for it to be viable," he said, when reminded of the high fee that is charged by the municipality.
The concept is fairly simple. Advertising space on billboards along busy roads and highways is limited and in some places such form of advertising is not allowed at all. To get around this problem, companies can advertise on cars that travel along heavily populated areas to reach the target audience. The problem was that purchasing an entire fleet of cars for a campaign can be overly expensive, so a solution had to be found.
Instead of purchasing cars, advertising firms can lease space on private cars. In return for letting a company "wrap" the car with their advertisement, they pay the car owner a monthly fee. The fees can be as high as $400 (Dh1,500) a month for a full car wrap and lesser amounts for a partial car wrap or a window wrap.
In Dubai, taxis and public transport buses are commonly used for this purpose. In fact, the medium is so effective and in demand that there is often advance booking to get the desired space. "Buses or taxis take your brand all over the emirate and expose it round the clock," said Fernandes.
In the US, another option companies are offering is giving a free car with their advertisements on it. One doesn't get paid in this deal or get to choose the type of the car provided, but one receives a car for free use during the period of the campaign. The only costs are petrol and insurance, which means one is getting transportation at a fraction of the cost of owning a car.
There are some rare cases where one can get paid along with a free car. Some companies will pay the user to drive the free cars along certain, specified routes each day.
The scheme has been so successful that there is a long waiting list of people wanting to drive their cars with advertising messages wrapped around. Most companies require the motorist to drive a minimum of 800 miles a month.
Not driving enough miles can negate the contract and most companies use global positioning systems in the vehicles to track the miles and places travelled each month.
Large college campuses seem to be an ideal location where the advertisement will be seen by a population the advertisers love to.
Most programmes require the motorist to be 18 years of age, have a clean driving record and own auto insurance. Traffic violations will, in most cases, prohibit one from being considered.
Another spinoff from this business is an opportunity for providing data of willing drivers. There are a number of websites that claim to be a database for advertisers to find people willing to advertise on their cars.
Many offer free sign-up, but encourage motorists to purchase a "premium package" that is supposed to move your name higher up on the list. The fact is that one is very unlikely to be picked from these services so it isn't worth the time (and definitely not the money) signing up with them.
By Vigyan Arya
© Emirates Business 24/7 2008
Community Comments (0) - 
Comment on this article 
Comment on this article
The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect Zawya. Read our Comment Policy.
Loading ...
Zawya Comment Policy:
-
Zawya encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You agree that when you add content to this discussion your comments will not:
1.1 Contain any material which is libelous or defamatory of any person, is obscene, offensive, hateful or inflammatory or causes damage to the reputation of any person or organisation.
1.2 Promote sexually explicit material, violence, discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age or any illegal activity.
1.3 Be made in breach of any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence.
1.4 Be threatening, abuse or invade another's privacy, or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety.
1.5 Be used to impersonate any person, to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person, or be likely to deceive any person.
1.6 Give the impression that they represent Zawya.
1.7 Advocate, promote or assist any unlawful act such as (by way of example only) copyright infringement or computer misuse. - The content posted on www.zawya.com is created by members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of Zawya. Zawya reserves the right to review all comments prior to posting and edit or delete any contribution, but Zawya is not responsible for and can not be held liable for any content posted by members of the public on www.zawya.com.
- Zawya is not responsible for the availability or content of any third party sites that are accessible through www.zawya.com. Any links to third party websites from www.zawya.com do not amount to any endorsement of that site by Zawya and any use of that site by you is at your own risk.
- By submitting your comment, you hereby give Zawya the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comments worldwide, in perpetuity.
Post Your Tender Notices for FREE
(No Sign-in Required)
Zawya Tenders is a Tender Notices service entirely driven by contribution
from issuers in both public and private sectors. It is not an e-tendering service and is entirely FREE.
As an Issuer, you can benefit from posting an unlimited number of Tender
Notices for FREE and reaching out to an online community of bidders.
The service also offers you a tool to track the interest of bidders to your
tenders 'live' online.
from issuers in both public and private sectors. It is not an e-tendering service and is entirely FREE.
As an Issuer, you can benefit from posting an unlimited number of Tender
Notices for FREE and reaching out to an online community of bidders.
The service also offers you a tool to track the interest of bidders to your
tenders 'live' online.
| UAE Tenders | Due Date |
Community Buzz
Stories
Companies
Most viewed companies by Community in the last 24 hrs
| Company Name | Country | Industry |
| Saudi Binladin Group | Saudi Arabia | Construction and Design |
| Consolidated Contractors Company | Overseas | Construction and Design |
| Saudi Telecom | Saudi Arabia | Telecommunications Services |
| Saudi Electricity Company | Saudi Arabia | Electric Utilities |
| Investment Corporation of Dubai | UAE | Investment Firms and Funds |
| Alokozay Group of Companies | UAE | Multi-line |
| Al Rajhi Bank | Saudi Arabia | Banking |
| Saudi Basic Industries Corporation | Saudi Arabia | Petrochemicals |
| Pepsi Cola International (Middle East) | Region-wide | Beverages |
| Emirates Airline | UAE | Transportation Services |
Projects
Most viewed projects by Community in the last 24 hrs
| Project Name | Country | Sector |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| ENEC - Nuclear Power Plant | UAE | Power and Water |
| Emirates Aluminium (EMAL) - Smelter Complex - Phase 1 | UAE | Industry |
| SATORP - Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Dubai RTA - Dubai Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| ADNOC/ConocoPhillips - Sour Gas Fields Development - Shah Field | UAE | Oil and Gas |
| Qatar Foundation - Sidra Medical and Research Center | Qatar | Real Estate |
| SATORP- Jubail Refinery and Petrochemical Complex - Conversion Unit and Sulphur Package (Part 2) | Saudi Arabia | Oil and Gas |
| Abu Dhabi DOT - Abu Dhabi Metro | UAE | Infrastructure |
| Takreer - Ruwais Refinery Expansion - Offsites and Utilities Package | UAE | Oil and Gas |