• by Ken Liebeskind , May 15, 2001

From time to time the entrepreneurial minds of the ad industry revolt against the constraints of existing media vehicles and all of a sudden ads start to appear in odd places like elevators, coffee cup sleeves, and gas pumps. The most recent entry in the 'odd ad vehicle' registry is taxi hubcaps. Last week, Los Angeles taxis welcomed a new kind of ad -- E-caps.

The story of their creation is remarkable, really. It began two years ago in Tokyo, when commuters waiting for buses had their coats damaged by the spoked hubcaps of nearby cabs. After smooth, spokeless hubcaps were created someone thought they would be a good place for advertising, and voila, the new format was born.

What started in Tokyo two years ago spread to other parts of Asia, Europe and Australia. Finally, it has reached the U.S. although a Canadian company, E-Caps North America (Winnipeg, Manitoba) is behind it.

The company, headed by president Edgar McCullins, was formed in January, and is in the process of introducing E-caps in different cities. "We go to each city individually and talk to taxi commissioners to get approval," McCullins says. It isn't easy because city codes governing cabs prohibit ads that obstruct visibility. There are even color codes, he says.

The Los Angeles taxicab commission was the first to give approval and McCullins sold the idea to 1-800-TAXICAB, a ride referral service that is the first advertiser, with City Cab of Los Angeles the first cab company to participate.

Mark Adkins, CEO of 1-800-TAXICAB, is excited about the new format, saying, "It's a wonderful opportunity to generate more awareness. We're the kind of business that likes to get impressions to people on the go and this hits people out and about." The ad, which appears on a 17 inch disk, used the company logo and a line of copy. 1-800-TAXICAB is a national service, so the advertising could spread to other cities, Adkins says.

In Japan, Kirin beer and Nestle pet foods were advertised on E-caps. McCullins says other potential advertisers include wireless products and transportation, especially airlines.

McCullins made the deal with 1-800-TAXICAB on his own and will continue to pursue deals. But he will also rely on media buying services to sell the advertising. Medallion Media in New York and Eller Taxi Media in Las Vegas handle taxi advertising. Deals with advertising agencies could also be made.

E-Caps North America doesn't charge taxi cab companies for the advertising. E-caps are installed on the cabs for free and ad revenue is split between E-Caps North America, the cab company and the media buying agency if there is one.

Like Web advertising, E-caps are sold on an impression basis, impressions here being the number of pedestrians exposed to the ad. McCullins says studies have been done to determine how many pedestrians will see an E-cap in a set amount of time. A cab in New York generates 44,000 impressions a day, while one in Tokyo generates 105,000 in 19 hours. Based on those numbers, McCullins says a cab in Tokyo generates 2.3 million impressions a month. E-Caps North America offers a CPM rate of 68 cents, which compares favorably with other media, McCullins says.

McCullins has gone to Sunbelt cities first because they frequently host special events and conventions, a good audience for E-caps. Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Las Vegas, Reno, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas will see E-caps soon. Deals are pending in other cities, including New York.

While E-caps started on taxis, they could also be used on buses, McCullins says. He sees it as a valuable format that could work with the advertising that wraps around buses. E-caps could be changed to promote immediate messages without changing the bus wrap.

- Ken Liebeskind may be reached at kenrunz@aol.com