Wrapify is a new startup out of San Francisco that has a pretty creative idea to make your car earn money for you (instead of just costing). The idea is to sell parts of, or the entire surface (sans windows) to advertisers, so you can be a billboard on wheels.
Drive at least 50 miles using the app. We use your first 100 miles of driving activity to match you to the most appropriate advertisers.
To be part of the program you sign up at wrapify.com and as long as you meet the minimum driver requirements (21yo, clean driving record, own a car less than 8 years old), you can apply to have your car wrapped. The calculator on their site allows you to get estimated returns based on the distance you commute each day and how much of your car you are willing to wrap. Right now the service is US-centric, which means you’d have to convert miles to km to get a sense for what you could earn. For 25 miles (40km) you could earn US$96-US$178 per week, a pretty substantial amount.
Its a very interesting concept and while not available in Australia (yet), it does raise the question, would you be prepared to sell your vehicle’s outsides for money? For a lot of people, that’s probably going to depend on the brand that wants to advertise. If its a brand you know and love, then great its a no brainer.
Cars are personal items and often extensions of you, the manufacturer, model, colour and options are all things car companies know relate to the driver’s image. The great ones you want to be associated with, the cheaper ones, not so much and having ads on your car will work much the same.
The more difficult moral question what about the brands you don’t use, or have an opinion on? If you feel nothing about a brand, but are perceived as loving them by having their logo splashed across your hood, then what does that say about you as a person? Are people going to stop long enough to ask you if your decision to wrap your car in bold, attention grabbing colours was a solid financial decision or just assume you’ve been watching fast and furious movies on the weekends?
Now for the hardest question, what if you’re asked to wrap your car in a brand you hate, that you detest, but pays the most ? Would you do it? That probably depends on your situation, if your car is a less of a status symbol and more of a utility to get you from A-to-B, then maybe the answer would be yes.
The pitch to advertisers include a dashboard (available through mobile apps) that let you see how many impressions your brand is receiving. This promotional video suggests advertisers can target specific areas. To achieve this, Wrapify drivers have to use the Wrapify app when driving to receive credit for their travel history. This also allows Wrapify to cross reference with other traffic data to estimate how many eyeballs (or impressions) seen their branded cars.
It’s a really interesting service that if nothing else will start to make cars look far more interesting than the solid, single colours we see on our streets and highways today. Personally I hope Wrapify comes to Australia. It’ll be interesting to see if UberX and other ride sharing services, allow their drivers to make supplementary income from Wrapify.
