Today’s Ask the Readers question comes from Anne:
What do you know about driving cars with ads placed on them? I have tried to investigate this online a bit and aren’t sure what companies are legit and how the process works.
Anne
Knoxville, Tennessee
Have any of you participated in car wrap programs before? What advice or input do you have? I’d love to hear as I find this a fascinating way to earn some extra money.
DL says
In addition to the insurance issue, you may be required to have a commerical license tag on your car. I know here if you drive with any kind of business signs on your car then you need a commercial tag which of course, costs more.
Homskoolr says
How much money can be earned? Is it worth it?
Jen says
We looked into this once. For the vehicle wraps, they also want to know what kind of vehicle you drive. The newer, the better. There’s no way they’d be interested in our old beater van! Also, they usually want something a little larger than our tiny little Kia.
Emily says
I’ve also done Miles of Marketing. It’s very hit or miss, though – depending on what she has available for your market. It is usually just a large car magnet and not any kind of wrap so it’s not too tacky looking.
Alice says
Most of these companies it is not how many miles you drive but rather where you drive. A person I know as just a nodding aquantance from church has a wrap advertising computers. She drops off and picks up her kids up from the two must upscale schools in the area, only drives at the most 25 miles a day all within a few miles of her home. She was selected based on where she did the most driving not how many miles.
Stacy says
I’ve signed up for several of these companies before and never gotten calls back. I drive several hours/day (80-100 miles) through quite a few different suburbs.
Tammy L says
This sounds kinda cool! I wonder if commuting on I-5 and in Seattle each day would be high enough exposure?! heehee
Rachelle M. says
Would love to hear more about this. My hubby drives 150 miles a day and goes thru two states! This would help out with the gas!!!!
Blessings-
Rachelle
WR says
Why advertise your blog on your car?
Dallas says
I also tried to do this over a year ago and I too am still on waiting list.
Tara says
I saw an article about this type of program a long time ago. But when I read up on it a little more, I got the impression that you had no control over the content of the ads on your car. For instance you might find it objectionable to drive around advertising alcoholic beverages on your car, but if you signed a contract with the company, you would be obligated to take whatever “wrap” is available. Perhaps there are some companies that let you have more control over the content of the ads…
Michele @ Saving Money In Real Life says
We have a PT Cruiser and my husband drives 25 miles each way to work. We got on a list for one of those advertising firms but haven’t heard from them yet, it’s been at least a year.
Jenny says
Not sure where to post this – but I just wanted to Thank you again for posting about the Sample Showcase awhile back – my box came today and it was seriously awesome!! Full of lots of goodies!!
Mamosa says
I’ve done this before, two times in fact, for a very reputable company: Miles of Marketing. Several projects involved “wearing” a car magnet on your vehicle AND adding a short blurb or two about the product on a social networking site like Facebook, blogspot, MySpace, Twitter, etc. You can check it out at http://milesofmarketing.com/ . One time I did a promotion for Tide, another time it was a CD promotion for Josh Turner. You do have to provide proof of automobile insurance and your driver’s license before being accepted as a rep. Most projects require pictures of your automobile “wearing” the magnet, or photos of your marketing venue, so a decent camera is a must. It won’t make you rich, but it’s virtually effortless, and every little bit of money helps in these economic times!
Andrea Q says
Also, if you live in a neighborhood with an HOA, check your regulations.
Aileen says
I agree about the insurance. I used to work for an insurance agency. Check with your insurance company. If you get into an accident and either insurance company finds out you had any advertising on your car, you may not be covered.
You could switch to commercial auto insurance. It’s a little more, but would probably still be cheap enough to be worth it to do the whole car wrap thing.
stephanie says
Major thing you need to worry about is insurance. Check it with a fine tooth comb. If you advertise ANY business on your vehicle & get into any accident, it could cancel out your personal car insurance. If your car insurance doesn’t allow for business (most personal ones don’t), then you could be in a huge pickle even if someone hits you!
julie says
I think it would embarrass the kids, and me too. If it was a tasteful bummer sticker or decal, i’d be more willing to do. Especially if it had a positive message versus a straight up ad. Great question 🙂
Em says
I’ve been on their waiting list for about a year now! It’s a great program, but it can be very hard to get selected. They look at your daily driving route, and the demographics in your area. If you match to what they are looking for, you might be selected for as little as 3 months up to 2 years! I would encourage people to sign up and see if they qualify. Never sign up with a company that makes you pay up front! Free car media is a good site: http://freecarmedia.com/.
Jessica says
Great question! I would also like to know. My husband and I were just talking about this last week 🙂