100 francs for a perforated foil
You-AD sells advertising space on car rear windows and advertises with Walter Bosch and Bruno Widmer
Publicity is assured: after all, Thomas Gfeller and Marusa Fasano were able to get Bruno Widmer and Walter Bosch interested in their advertising idea. Both are shareholders of You-AD and promote the company. However, the idea behind it is hardly revolutionary: at least four companies have discovered the car as an advertising space before Gfeller and Fasano; at least two companies in Switzerland have already been using the car as an advertising space for a year.
Walter Bosch, ex-journalist, ex-advertiser and board member of You-AD, is not bothered by this: "Admittedly, the idea is not new, but never before has the idea of using rear windows as advertising space been implemented as professionally, plausibly and efficiently as with You-AD." (See also "In conversation".)
Thomas Gfeller also has a lot of confidence in his new project. For the former economics and philosophy student, who was most recently a strategy consultant at a major American company together with Fasano, one thing is certain: "This company has great potential." Gfeller expects turnover to reach the double-digit millions within a year. "We are in the process of opening up various countries - including the USA - for our project. And things are looking good," says Gfeller. Market entry in Germany has already been achieved.
You-AD currently has six employees in Switzerland and one in Germany, with two more key account managers to be hired. "We are still in the start-up phase," says Gfeller. Instead of a quick fix, the You-AD team is focusing on a well-organized, well-founded build-up: To this end, Gfeller and Fasano have had the suitability of their project reviewed by the Ernest-Dichter-Institut Zurich. With the result that "we can prove that our medium works".
Five months after its foundation, the results are impressive: You-AD has carried out three pilot campaigns with Credit Suisse youtrade and the internet store Le Shop.ch. "There is a lot of interest," says Gfeller: "We are in the middle of negotiations with 15 agencies." Gfeller is convinced that a large number of them "will agree". The advertising effectiveness of his rear window advertising space gives him grounds for this assertion.
"After all, as the study by the Ernest-Dichter-Institut shows, we can reach 100,000 people in a month with a You-AD campaign in cities like Zurich with 25 cars. And that kind of advertising effectiveness is really something to be proud of," says the Chairman of the Board of Directors of You-AD.
Well-founded structure instead of a quick fix
So far, 800 drivers have registered with You-AD, 350 of them in Zurich. In order to be selected by You-AD, however, those interested must meet a number of criteria. Among other things, the driver must drive at least 1,000 kilometers per month in the area mainly relevant to the campaign.
In return, the driver receives 100 francs per month and the opportunity to choose the subject they drive around with. "This means that the drivers who take part are not just interested in financing their leasing in the cheapest possible way, but are also behind the campaign they drive around in," Gfeller is convinced.
He and his team are currently testing and introducing new advertising films. Unlike the previous ones, these will no longer have any holes but will still be transparent. "This will further improve the quality of rear window advertising," says Gfeller. And the business should also pay off for others. "We only want to offer the best," he says, "and at a fair price." A two-month campaign with 200 cars costs around 145,000 francs - 195 francs per car for production costs, 265 francs per car per month for media costs.
What Markus Ruf, Dominique von Matt and co. think about You-Ad
Markus Ruf, freelance concept designer: "Advertising space on the rear of the car? Not entirely unproblematic. If advertising is good, it attracts attention. So it distracts from traffic. Either there are strict legal regulations as to what is allowed (as with street posters). Or the car repair shops can look forward to good business. At the latest when H&M decides to place its next bikini campaign on the rear of cars. Actually, the advertising space on an Aargau car should cost more, because it is more often in the Baregg traffic jam, so the advertising is seen more intensively. I could imagine advertising for SBB, along the lines of: 'Better to sit on the train and read the newspaper than stand in a traffic jam and read advertising'."
Dominique von Matt, co-owner of Jung von Matt/Limmat: "For me, the question is: what effect does this medium have once you have become accustomed to it? The surprise effect works now. But in a few months' time? I also think it's not unproblematic that this advertising space is moving. The important thing is to use a short message to establish a dialogue with other drivers and pedestrians and to make the relevance of the message recognizable as such. After all, there are already enough cars with signs from various companies."
Matthias Freuler, CD, Wirz Werbung: "I think it's a good idea in principle. Any new medium that offers us new possibilities is to be welcomed. And what has been common practice on buses and streetcars for years should also work on private transport. If only to tell users of overcrowded buses and streetcars how much more pleasant it would be to travel in their own car. However, I doubt whether enough car owners are prepared to turn their Porsche, Polo or Pontiac into a poster."
Lajos Vizner, Consulting Group Manager Wirz Advertising: "This form of advertising is a very good complementary medium for the urban environment. This medium is particularly effective in traffic jams."
Regula Scherrer, Advisory Group Manager at WHS: "I am convinced that it will work in Zurich. I have already considered the You-AD offer alongside other options for a client in the media sector. What I find particularly interesting is that people are not yet familiar with this form of advertising; it is surprising. The price-performance ratio is also right."
