• by Larry Dobrow , Featured Columnist, February 23, 2006

AdFleet Advertising president Ian Klassen launched his hubcap advertising service in September 2004 and girded himself for the inevitable resistance. Critics suggested that the ad discs, secured to cab tires with a weighted hub, would shake at high speeds, rendering their messages only semi-legible. And they wondered how much of an impact a marketer could make with a moving target in an already saturated urban environment.

AdFleet's expansion over the last 18 months would seem to have proven those skeptics wrong. From the firm's first appearance in Los Angeles on behalf of clients like Taco Bell, to its Texas debut with the Dallas Mavericks, AdFleet has made hubcap ads more than a mere marketing gimmick. "[The ads] provoke a different kind of reaction -- you get a lot of stop-and-stare. It captures people's imagination," Klassen says. "But what's giving these programs legs is that they're impression-driven. They work."

The hubcap programs allow for a surprising amount of creativity. A Canadian telecom firm placed its logo on a cab's front wheels and a service offer on the rear ones. Other clients like Jiffy Lube and Virgin Cola decided to do straight branding with logos and little if any supporting information.

AdFleet hopes to enter the New York market this year, as well as add what Klassen calls "upstream advertising, not the more stagnant stuff we've seen on taxi tops." Recent clients include Denny's and TNT, which returns after using the hubcap approach last summer to launch its original series "Wanted." AdFleet generally charges $150 to $200 per cab per 4-week period.