Ads on wheels

Have you seen a yellow advertising truck around lately? The French franchisee, Mobil Affiche, brings to the UAE this unique way of advertising - wherein the advertising goes to the people rather than waiting for the people to come and see the advertising. Having first started in Brest, France, in 1993, it is now present in more than 50 countries worldwide. Having gained the trust of major clients and advertising agencies alike, Mobil Affiche now has a permanent local presence in Dubai.

Joseph Kallas, sales and marketing manager, says: "It is a type of advertising where the advertiser follows the masses, as opposed to advertising on fixed boards and waiting for the people to see them. For instance, in the morning when the Dubai-Sharjah highway is full of cars coming to Dubai, there are comparatively fewer cars on the opposite side. So our truck, with its rolling advertising panels, stands or moves on the same side as the traffic. In the evening, it is on the opposite side of the road. Thus more people have seen your advertisement than ever before."

Joseph claims that in a fixed advertising board, people see it once or twice and then it becomes part of the landscape, but Mobil Affiche follows the consumer around at the right place and right time. This way, targeting the customer becomes easy.

The truck itself is very multifunctional. It has three sides with up to seven panels scrolling on each side. Each panel is computer controlled and the consumer can dictate which panel rotates when and for how long.

Besides giving life to the advertisement each time it rolls, the visibility of the both the truck and the ads is always at its best due to the panels being backlit. Once done, each panel can be reused.

There is also immense flexibility, as the truck can be used as a different marketing tool each time. The truck can be used for full branding, where the whole truck is painted and personalised for a particular product only. In case of an event - like sampling and distribution - the truck can be driven to the pre-destined spot to make a product's presence felt. This can even be a remote corner where normally sampling and distribution cannot be effected.

The effect, however, seems the best where all the side panels are transparent and see through and the company's products, like furniture, automobiles, dressed up mannequins, etc., can be placed within the truck for a 3D visual effect.

Kallas says, "In Lebanon, they used this marketing tool effectively once, when the truck rolled into a totally dark disco and then suddenly lighted up with accompanying music and dancers inside. Sampling for a new product was done and the consumers probably never forgot it."

In other words, the truck gives you the freedom to be creative with your advertisements and use it as a different marketing tool each time around.