What do you think of my hustle?

[10Fold]

Hello everyone,

I have recently started a small hustle by the name of Ad Field. The premise of the business is to provide a unique promotion method to businesses on a budget. The method in question is to promote businesses on cars across my city. This would have the effectiveness of multiple billboards without the hefty price tag. This has been done before but not to my knowledge with magnetic signs, which is much cheaper than a full wrap and it means drivers don't cost as much.

So far, I have set up relationships with digital designers and sign manufacturers. In addition to this, I have created a form for driver applications which currently stands at 27 responses.

I have started contacting businesses but I'm struggling to find the right way to do so. Currently, I am emailing businesses with a short description/introduction and an electronic brochure which I have attached to this thread. I have been doing this for a day now and have received no responses so far. That being said, I have only emailed 18 businesses so far.

The email is as follows:

---

Subject: A Unique Opportunity

"Kia Ora [Business],
A business is only as good as it's reach. Which is why we would like to offer you a unique community focused promotion method.
By promoting your business on cars across Christchurch with tailored signs, you can extend your reach and make [Business] a Christchurch icon on a budget.
Below is a digital brochure on the service we provide.
If you would like to know more about this opportunity, don't hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Ryan Curry"

---

Thank you for reading, I would love to get feedback and advice on what I should do in future with this idea.

 

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[woken]

This has been done before but not to my knowledge with magnetic signs, which is much cheaper than a full wrap and it means drivers don't cost as much.

also stickers, those are cheaper and you could diy with a printer and vinyl cutter.

I have started contacting businesses but I'm struggling to find the right way to do so.

have been doing this for a day now and have received no responses so far

only emailed 18 businesses so far.

for F*ck’s sake.

 

[10Fold]

also stickers, those are cheaper and you could diy with a printer and vinyl cutter.





for f*ck’s sake.

Haha, I guess there is evidence in the pudding. I'll work on those numbers.

 

[Phikey]

Love the idea. So many thoughts on this:

• Can automate so much of the business and expand to other cities
• Car owners get sent magnets in the post and even rotate between brands as required
• The way to win with this business (in my opinion), is long-term retention of clients. Having them paying you a regular monthly or weekly fee and promising x cars driving x hours a day in x area allows you to generate consistent revenue for yourself, with clear expenses, and a consistent and expected return for the brands.

Questions/barriers:

• How to track and make sure that car owners actually use the magnets on their cars?
• How to measure and provide clear metrics of the return for the brands? Can you track “impressions” by tracking the routes of car owners and estimating the number of eyeballs?

My suggestions:

• Go after Rideshare Drivers rather than regular people. They’re always in their car, moving all around town, and are open to using their car for extra income. Less likely to care about what people or friends would say about having a big brand magnet on their car. Plus you could get them to send you their trip logs so you can demonstrate to clients where the car has been and what suburbs have seen it.
• The cold email needs improvement. I would emphasise the value for the brand. Right now it’s just ‘exposure’ and not enticing at all. It’s a lot of risk up front when they don’t know their potential return, even if it’s “Get exposed to 3,000 new eyeballs daily for your brand in your exact suburb”. You could add a (photoshopped) image showing what the car would look like with their brand on it.
• Can you do a free trial for brands and use a specific phone number or website landing page on the ad so you can track the number of leads or customers generated? Great way to demonstrate value within a few weeks and keep them as long-term retainers (the way to win in this business model, imo).
• Be more involved with the strategy for the brands so they have a great experience and return? Maybe you use call tracking and design the landing pages to increase conversion rates? Maybe you help them with their offer and copywriting on the signs? Maybe you design it all yourself and collect a commission from leads generated?
• Upsell for special cars - e.g. get your sticker on a ferrari for an extra $ per day. Luxury brands or brands that want quick eyeballs and exposure (say, for an upcoming event) might find this attractive.
• Pick 5 brands to validate with first. Get case studies and also confirm that this method of advertising can generate enough return for the costs. If you don’t do this it’s going to be hard to keep clients long-term because they won’t get a clear

 

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[10Fold]

Love the idea. So many thoughts on this:

• Can automate so much of the business and expand to other cities
• Car owners get sent magnets in the post and even rotate between brands as required
• The way to win with this business (in my opinion), is long-term retention of clients. Having them paying you a regular monthly or weekly fee and promising x cars driving x hours a day in x area allows you to generate consistent revenue for yourself, with clear expenses, and a consistent and expected return for the brands.

Questions/barriers:

• How to track and make sure that car owners actually use the magnets on their cars?
• How to measure and provide clear metrics of the return for the brands? Can you track “impressions” by tracking the routes of car owners and estimating the number of eyeballs?

My suggestions:

• Go after Rideshare Drivers rather than regular people. They’re always in their car, moving all around town, and are open to using their car for extra income. Less likely to care about what people or friends would say about having a big brand magnet on their car. Plus you could get them to send you their trip logs so you can demonstrate to clients where the car has been and what suburbs have seen it.
• The cold email needs improvement. I would emphasise the value for the brand. Right now it’s just ‘exposure’ and not enticing at all. It’s a lot of risk up front when they don’t know their potential return, even if it’s “Get exposed to 3,000 new eyeballs daily for your brand in your exact suburb”. You could add a (photoshopped) image showing what the car would look like with their brand on it.
• Can you do a free trial for brands and use a specific phone number or website landing page on the ad so you can track the number of leads or customers generated? Great way to demonstrate value within a few weeks and keep them as long-term retainers (the way to win in this business model, imo).
• Be more involved with the strategy for the brands so they have a great experience and return? Maybe you use call tracking and design the landing pages to increase conversion rates? Maybe you help them with their offer and copywriting on the signs? Maybe you design it all yourself and collect a commission from leads generated?
• Upsell for special cars - e.g. get your sticker on a ferrari for an extra $ per day. Luxury brands or brands that want quick eyeballs and exposure (say, for an upcoming event) might find this attractive.
• Pick 5 brands to validate with first. Get case studies and also confirm that this method of advertising can generate enough return for the costs. If you don’t do this it’s going to be hard to keep clients long-term because they won’t get a clear

Love the idea. So many thoughts on this:

• Can automate so much of the business and expand to other cities
• Car owners get sent magnets in the post and even rotate between brands as required
• The way to win with this business (in my opinion), is long-term retention of clients. Having them paying you a regular monthly or weekly fee and promising x cars driving x hours a day in x area allows you to generate consistent revenue for yourself, with clear expenses, and a consistent and expected return for the brands.

Questions/barriers:

• How to track and make sure that car owners actually use the magnets on their cars?
• How to measure and provide clear metrics of the return for the brands? Can you track “impressions” by tracking the routes of car owners and estimating the number of eyeballs?

My suggestions:

• Go after Rideshare Drivers rather than regular people. They’re always in their car, moving all around town, and are open to using their car for extra income. Less likely to care about what people or friends would say about having a big brand magnet on their car. Plus you could get them to send you their trip logs so you can demonstrate to clients where the car has been and what suburbs have seen it.
• The cold email needs improvement. I would emphasise the value for the brand. Right now it’s just ‘exposure’ and not enticing at all. It’s a lot of risk up front when they don’t know their potential return, even if it’s “Get exposed to 3,000 new eyeballs daily for your brand in your exact suburb”. You could add a (photoshopped) image showing what the car would look like with their brand on it.
• Can you do a free trial for brands and use a specific phone number or website landing page on the ad so you can track the number of leads or customers generated? Great way to demonstrate value within a few weeks and keep them as long-term retainers (the way to win in this business model, imo).
• Be more involved with the strategy for the brands so they have a great experience and return? Maybe you use call tracking and design the landing pages to increase conversion rates? Maybe you help them with their offer and copywriting on the signs? Maybe you design it all yourself and collect a commission from leads generated?
• Upsell for special cars - e.g. get your sticker on a ferrari for an extra $ per day. Luxury brands or brands that want quick eyeballs and exposure (say, for an upcoming event) might find this attractive.
• Pick 5 brands to validate with first. Get case studies and also confirm that this method of advertising can generate enough return for the costs. If you don’t do this it’s going to be hard to keep clients long-term because they won’t get a clear

Thank you so much! I did a bit of market validation (via a Facebook group) and business were very concerned about how good the drivers were and whether they were being safe. So in addition to "how's my driving" signs, I'll be using life 360 which is an app that tracks drivers safety on the road. I haven't fully considered proof of signs on the cars but I could always ask for a photo. What would be better is using life 360 to check that drivers have the signs on by driving past them. I haven't thought of impressions either, which is a pretty important factor of marketing. I wouldn't know how to track impressions, maybe the city council could give me stats on traffic in certain areas? There's always stating the population of my city for the impressions haha but thats quite the exaggeration. Thank you so much for your input!

 

[Phikey]

No problem, happy to help and I love brainstorming on ideas like this.

If I were you, I’d spend a day going to different areas (and on different days, weekdays, weekends, etc) and actually counting the people on the street. Maybe go to the downtown area and track there, as well as suburban areas. Then you can get some sort of ballpark estimate of the eyeballs on the car during any hourly period and per area. The good thing about using uber drivers is that they’re often spending time in populated areas (rather than going to and from work, to and from the supermarket like regular drivers who have their car in their garage or parked most of the time).
It’s a really cool idea and could be a million dollar (or billion dollar) business and would definitely be an enticing acquisition for larger companies and investors. All the best!