[Bill Hemmer, Cnn Anchor:] There's a marketing trend taking to the highways that has some drivers praising the rush hour. It's called car-wrapping, and some companies now paying top dollar to transform your wheels into a rolling billboard. CNN's Gayla Hope now with more on this.
[Gala Hope, Cnn Correspondent:] How would you like to make money driving your car around town just following your daily routine? That`s just what these drivers are doing.
[Adrienne Kolowich:] I actually had another little part time job which I was able to quit and spend more time with my kids because I`m doing this now, so I`m completed delighted.
[Michele Muller:] I thought it was a really fun way to make some extra money and pay off my credit cards.
[Hope:] Dan Shifrin`s company, Autowraps.com, is transforming cars into vinyl-wrapped billboards. The first cars hit the streets in February and he now has nearly 200 wrapped cars on the road. He calls it a win-win-win situation.
[Daniel Shifrin, President, Autowraps.com:] There`s three parties involved. One is the driver, which is the consumer. They`re getting anywhere between $200 and $400 a month to let us put this advertising on their car. The other party is the advertiser. They`re making money because they`re getting a very inexpensive form of advertising that is extremely effective. And then, of course, Autowraps picks up a dollar or two here or there.
[Hope:] Autowraps is picking up an average of about $250,000 a month, and that`s on the rise. Advertisers pay Shifrin $1,000 to $2,000 per car. That`s cheap compared to billboards.
[Shifrin:] For one billboard on the 101, you can get 30 cars for that amount of money.
[Hope:] Volkswagen bugs and SUVs are favorites of advertisers. One`s cute and the others are big. But all cars are considered, depending on the miles driven or the routes taken every day. Advertisers are targeting particular demographics. Autowrap`s list of more than 20 advertisers is expanding daily.
[Shifrin:] Just today we had, you know, we got a call from WebTV Microsoft WebTV that they are going to be doing a program with us. We're actually launching with Kraft California Pizza Kitchen in the near future.
[Hope:] Two new companies recently signed for 180 cars each and Dreyers ice cream just resigned for next year.
[Dave Ritterbush, Dir. Of Marketing, Dreyers Grand Ice Cream:] As we look about traditional media, you`re finding a greater need to use more and more untraditional ways to reach so many consumers as their lifestyles change.
[Hope:] For some extra attention, cars with the same ads drive through town in tandem, like these two cruising a crowded Fisherman`s Wharf. Most prospective clients here about Autowraps through the Internet and the company`s Web site is filling up with anxious wrapees.
[Marianne Farrell, V.p., Operations, Autowraps.com:] At any given moment, I can probably have between 3,500 and 4,000 unread e-mails.
[Hope:] Shifrin`s wrapped cars do outsell standard billboards in one way. The cars have talking representatives to give out information about advertisers and Autowraps.com. Autowraps and advertisers are getting PR and the drivers are getting something they enjoy.
[Darrin Cannady:] Besides the financial benefit, it`s a little bit of recognition. It`s something different. It adds a little excitement to one`s day.
[Hope:] The biggest challenge so far is getting cars wrapped fast enough to keep up with demand. Shifrin says the waiting list has topped more than 20,000. Gayla Hope, CNN Financial News, San Francisco.