I’m sure a lot of people will be asking themselves — “Why didn’t I think of that?” — after they read this.
A Seattle-based company called Biking Billboards has earned a $5,000 finalist prize from the University of Washington Business Plan Competition.
The Seattle company mounts billboards on bike trailers and hires people to pedal them around town on pre-arranged routes chosen to draw the most customers for its clients.
Launched in Seattle a year ago, the idea is starting to catch on. Molbaks garden store and Verdeaux Condos are among its clients.
Look for Biking Billboards later this summer in Portland and Spokane.
The company was co-founded by Andrea Lieberman, president, and her son Jace. The contest sponsored by the UW Foster School of Business helps start-ups develop business plans and make contacts. The winning team comprised Andrea, VP of Operations Alyssa Norwood, and Foster Entrepreneurship undergrads Curtis Howell and Claire Koerner.
I’m surprised the Mad Men didn’t come up with this idea first.
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Don’t have enough advertising encroaching on our lives? It may be clever, but it is very ugly.
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Who needs more billboards, right? Look at our buses. I guess I’m just a sucker for anything that uses a bicycle — even advertising.
If it helps eliminate those big billboards on exhaust billowing trucks, I’m all for it.
I believe it’s a very creative and cost-friendly to have made a billboard bike. I do wish I have thought of that one too. Thanks for the interesting read! If I were a business owner, I would take advantage of this eye-catching ad strategy.