Mini-billboards mounted to the roofs of taxi cabs are not a new sight around airports, theater districts and other high-traffic locales.
    But taxis that digitally display banner ads with weather and stock reports are among the rapidly expanding options for creative advertising on the portable billboards that cruise on average 2,000 miles a week through major markets.
     To find out where and how your clients can wrap, illuminate or display their messages, read on.
     Next week, Media Life will move from advertising options on taxi exteriors to inside the cabs where a totally different array of ad opportunities, targeting a different group of consumers, will be profiled.
     This is one in a Media Life series on buying the new out-of-home venues. They appear weekly.

Fast Facts:

What: 
     Ads on cab exteriors including tops, trunks, windows and wraps.

Who:
     Several media companies are offering variations on exterior taxi ads. They include:
- Vert, headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts.
- Medallion Taxi Media, operating out of New York City and New Orleans.
- Taxi Tops, a division of Eller Media, headquartered in Las Vegas.

How it works:
      Traditional taxi tops are taking on a novel appearance as they expand from two sides to three or four sides and utilize digital technology, holograms and illumination to display advertising messages.
      Traditional tops are 14 inches high and 48 inches wide, with dimensions roughly the same ratio as billboards which run 14 feet by 48 feet. Some advertisers use the same creative for both types of signage.
     Traditional, static taxi-top signage is printed in four-color and is mounted at eye level to both pedestrians and motorists. “Remember, the cab is doing three things in the course of a day,” says Charlie DiToro, COO for Eller Taxi Media. “Sitting still at lights, passing a lot of pedestrians who are walking the streets and passing other cars.”
      Extensions from the upper edge of taxi tops are available in some markets. Creative for extensions ties into the message on the topper.
      Lenticular images can display multiple images for the same client. “The ads are like holograms,” DiToro says. “You can see the client’s logo in static and also see pictures change when you move or when the cab moves.”
     Full-motion, full-color video, wireless internet and global positioning are used to create digital screen ads mounted on cab tops. Vert Intelligent Display uses the new technologies to program two- or three-sided screens that display live content and advertisements. VID ads generally run seven to 15 seconds, but can run longer.
      Zip codes, neighborhoods and specific business districts can be targeted, with ad messages changing as the cab moves through a market. For example, Vert advocates running ads for financial services in affluent neighborhoods, Spanish-language ads in Hispanic neighborhoods and messages targeting college students in and around campuses. A restaurant can buy advertising in its immediate vicinity and can change the display to advertise lunch and dinner specials throughout the day.
      “Liquor companies, for instance, have said that this is a great way to advertise responsibly because our technology can put up barriers within range of schools and churches where they’re not allowed to advertise,” says Rick Wessels, vice president of marketing and business development for Vert.
      Live content – headlines, weather, traffic updates, streaming stock quotes – can be displayed in real time.
      Animated ads can be displayed via Vert.
      Ads can be scheduled for certain times of day to target lunch hours, before and after theater slots and other specific demographic objectives.
      Trunk signage runs 14 by 36 inches and is often sold in a package with tops.
      Illuminated trunks are Taxi Tops' newest innovation and will be rolled out in Las Vegas within the next two weeks.
      Wraps and partial wraps are available in some markets. Availability is related to local restrictions. “Wraps have been huge in San Francisco and Boston and are just becoming available in other cities like D.C.,” DiToro says.
      Window stickers are available in some markets and are usually coordinated with tops. “We’ve done those for many tech clients,” DiToro says.
      Three-dimensional signs are also available. “During the last Super Bowl down here in New Orleans, what we did for Miller Lite was to bolt ice chests with lights inside to the top of our cabs with their logo on the side and then drive down the street. They looked as if someone had left an ice chest on top the cab and people would run down the street after them yelling,” says Medallion Taxi Media COO Mary Pat Holt. “Then they had a trunk sign saying ‘Follow me to the Mardi party.’”
      Branding is the primary objective of taxi exterior advertising, though some advertisers also use it for promotions. For example, promotions for Broadway shows are often advertised on top of taxis in New York City.
      Creative is usually provided by the client.
      “Simplicity works,” DiToro says.
      Creative for trunks also follows the simplicity rule. “Trunks are a great branding tool,” DiToro says.
      Just use your imagination when developing creative for wraps, DiToro advises. “Yahoo looked great simply wrapped in their logo while Air Jamaica’s wrap made the cab look like an airplane and CoolSavings.com put sunglasses on the cab.”
      Advertisers buying video signs often modify creative developed for their web pages and internet ads. The ratio of the VID sign size is similar to internet banners.
      VID screens are brighter than television screens so they can be viewed in sunlight.
      “We say what works well on a billboard will work on our screens,” Wessels says.
      “You want to capture people’s attention and communicate a message quickly.”
      VID screen advertisers can enhance an element of their message. “Your logo and picture can remain on the screen the entire length of the advertisement, and then one part can be animated,” Wessels says. “People’s eyes are drawn to the motion and are more likely to look at it when they are seeing moving colors and images.”
      Regulations on taxi-toting ads vary by municipality. In some markets where billboards are restricted or hard to buy, like San Francisco and Washington, DC, taxi ads are a widely used alternative.
       In other markets, restrictions limit what media companies can do with their cabs. When Medallion ran a promotion for Yahoo in New York City they painted cab bumpers the trademark purple and removed the seats and replaced them with purple ones. “We couldn’t wrap the whole vehicle in New York, but what we were able to do was fun,” Holt says.
       In addition to complying with local ordinances, taxi media companies offering three-dimensional ads and toppers check bridge and underground parking height restrictions. “We do a lot of homework before we present to the client,” Holt says.
       National advertisers are utilizing exterior taxi ads for multi-market buys while local businesses are buying a market or a portion of a market. “We have a great mix of national, regional and local depending on the city,” DiToro says.
       Taxi exteriors are used for standalone and in multimedia campaigns.
       Trickle-down exposure is a fringe benefit of trying the newer venues. Both three-dimensional and electronic toppers have been covered by print and broadcast media in recent months.

Markets:
       Vert is currently in Boston and will be moving into New York City by July. Expansion into San Francisco is slated for the next 10 to 12 months.
       Taxi Tops are available in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Detroit, Atlanta, Washington D.C., New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando, Dallas, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Reno and Newport, R.I.
       Medallion Taxi Media has cabs in New York City, New Orleans, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Atlantic City, Austin, Baltimore, Buffalo, Biloxi, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Memphis, Miami, Minneapolis, Newark, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, Toledo, Kansas City, Missouri, Washington D.C. and Clearwater, Jacksonville and Pensacola, Florida.
        Advertising opportunities on cab exteriors vary with local ordinances. For instance, there’s not much out-of-home opportunity in Washington, D.C. according to Eller’s DiToro, so taxi wraps and other signage is prominent.
       In New Orleans, French Quarter billboards are virtually non-existent. “But we can go in with our lights lit and horns blowing,” Holt says.
       Some cities, like Boston, license taxis within a “home” community where they pick up their fares. This practice is an asset when targeting demographic groups. “You can zone advertising in 13 areas in Boston and in eight areas of Los Angeles,” DiToro says. “You can carve the geography in most cities and select your cabs.”
      Taxis frequent business, commercial and residential areas within a market.
      The logistics of each market also depend on whether taxis pick up their fares at cab stands or by radio. “You have to determine which type of cab works best for which advertiser,” Holt says.

Numbers:
    How measured?
    Cabs are on the road an average of 20 hours a day; their mileage can be measured and their destinations and routes tracked.
     Cabs average 2,000 miles weekly according to Eller’s DiToro, compared to about 500 miles for a bus and 200 miles for a (wrapped) auto.
     Vert can report on where and when ads are displayed. “Our software can tell which ad played at what time and location,” Wessels says.
     Taxi Tops estimates 50 million daily viewers of their signs in 12 cities.
     Medallion Taxi Media has commissioned studies for their major markets to measure impressions and effectiveness. For instance, in Los Angeles studies were conducted for traffic from the airport to downtown (31,908 impressions per taxi per day including 30,822 vehicles and 1,086 pedestrians), local runs (35,960 impressions per taxi per day including 27,770 vehicles and 8,260 pedestrians) and downtown (19,747 impressions per taxi per day including tourists and downtown workers).

Research:
     What product categories do well?
     Financial companies, medical companies, media (TV, radio, newspapers), entertainment (live and movie industry), liquor, airlines, fashion, restaurants and hotels.
     Product categories vary from market to market, Holt says. “In New York it’s Broadway shows and fashion while in New Orleans we have casinos and beer companies.”
      “I don’t know what categories wouldn’t work,” DiToro says.

Demographics:
      Exterior taxi demographics are similar to other mobile out-of-home, specifically buses and wrapped cars and include auto and pedestrian traffic.

Making the buy:
      Vert says that with creative in hand, ads can go up in an hour.
     Contracts are generally running one to three months, but are open to other time frames.
     Factors that affect pricing are number of signs on cabs, targeting, length of contract and customization of the ad. So far advertisers have bought the entire inventory by cab. Costs are negotiable, but for 100 percent inventory the price runs $5,000 per month, per cab.
     Eller Taxi Tops offers flexible contracts, based on clients’ needs. “We do a lot of convention business where they want to be up three to ten days,” DiToro says.
     Lead time is typically seven to ten days, though DiToro says they’ve put ads on taxi tops in as little as 24 hours.
     Factors that affect pricing are markets and length and quantity of buy. “Prices vary dramatically by city and what the client’s buying,” DiToro says.
     Eller Taxi Tops cost is based on an average CPM with a three-sided taxi top averaging in at 91 cents, a two-sided taxi top at 72 cents and a trunk sign at 27 cents.
      Specific pricing information for each market is available on the Taxi Tops web site under Inventory. For instance, in Detroit two-sided tops, extensions and trunks are available. All 130 tops are available at $225 each or for a monthly total of $29,250.
       Exclusivity comes with tops. Advertisers automatically get both sides, though they can run different messages on each side. If an advertiser doesn’t buy both top and trunk when available, approval from both is necessary to run two advertisers on the same cab. Half of the 10,000 cab fleet has the capability to run trunk ads.
      Medallion Taxi Media offers contracts ranging from one month to a year.
      Lead time after art is submitted is ten days, but also depends on the number of cabs an advertiser is buying.
      Factors that affect pricing include number of cabs and length of contract.
      All toppers on their 12,000 vehicles are two-sided and backlit and advertisers get both sides.
      Medallion inspects signage monthly.

Who’s already on taxi exteriors?
     Terra Lycos on Vert.
     ABC, Budweiser, CNN, Disney, Fox, HBO, Helmut Lang, Kellogg’s, Microsoft, Miller Brewing, Molson Beer, Old Navy, Oldsmobile, Tower Records, Western Union and Cameraworld.com have appeared on Taxi Tops.
      CBS, The New York Times, Cathay Pacific, MGM, Disney, Yahoo, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Saks Fifth Avenue, Continental Airlines, Planet Hollywood, Sony, Fox, TWA, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Knoxberry Farms, Computer Associates, Continental Airlines, Delta, Bell Atlantic, Ann Taylor and Target have appeared on Medallion Taxis.

What’s unique:
      Taxis that are wrapped or topped to look like an airplane or wearing sunglasses or traveling city streets with a model (mannequin) riding on the roof.

Web site info:

Vert at www.vert.net

Medallion Taxi Media at www.medallionfinancial.com

Taxi Tops at www.taxitops.com

April 16, 2001 © 2001 Media Life

-Kathy Prentice writes about out-of-home advertising for Media Life, penning her stories from the resort town of Traverse City, in the upper reaches of Michigan.

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