Hour; "Ads on the move"

Ads on the move
by Craig Silverman

Yet another new form of mobile billboard has made its way to the streets of Montreal. Joining the fleet of trucks are scooters that pull an ad-filled trailer behind them.

Explainer takes a ride on the Scoot Pub.

1. Local street marketing firm Trako Media is the first to bring scooter-pulled billboards to the city. The first Scoot Pubs, featuring Yamaha scooters, began driving along Montreal streets in late July. Ludovic Mottini, the company's technical director, says the scooters consume less gas and produce less pollution than a truck billboard. "We had some complaints, but when we told people it only costs $1.25 a day for gas, they didn't say anything [negative]," Mottini says. The concept has been used in Europe, Australia and the United States. "But we took the idea and tried to make something better," he says.

2. So, how is it better? Bigger billboards! Most other scooter billboards are 40 inches by 60 inches, so the Trako Media team decided to make theirs 60 by 60 inches on the sides. (The ad behind the driver is 27 by 60 inches. Hey, they have to see what's behind them.) One of the first Scoot Pub campaigns was for French publication La Semaine, and the company hopes to attract some big brands. The Scoot Pubs are a result of marketing companies' constant push to find new ways to capture the attention of consumers on the street. "If you're the first [with a new idea] and it's the nicest and newest thing, then it's the most interesting," Mottini says. "If everyone has seen something before, they don't care anymore."

3. It costs the company about $8,500 to build this custom trailer, and they currently have 10 on the move. The drivers are recruited by a staffing agency, and occasionally Craigslist, and go through a day of training prior to their first public ride. Among other rules, "they have to not block traffic and not do anything dangerous - and be seen," Mottini says. So far, the Scoot Pubs are accident free. They hope to use hydrogen-powered scooters in the future, and the company also expects to unveil a new concept soon. Maybe Ski-Doo billboards for the winter? "We thought about it," Mottini says, "but we have something else... we're waiting to perfect it before we introduce it."