On The Move

For consumers who need a little stimulation on the long commute home, VehicleAd.com has something for them to feast their weary eyes on: moving billboards. Founded in August 2000, the Vancouver-based start-up matches private vehicle owners with advertising companies. Chosen vehicles are wrapped in vinyl corporate advertisements, and drivers are compensated for carrying the ads on their cars.

For Henry Tenby, 36, president of VehicleAd, it's all about the quality of the impression. "You can turn a vehicle into something that's absolutely wild by putting full photographs and images onto the side of a car," he says.

Interested drivers complete a 10-minute demographic and lifestyle characteristics survey at VehicleAd's Web site. Advertisers then scroll through the database to determine who meets their demographic criteria and target market. Drivers can earn $250 per month for a fully wrapped car or $175 for a partially wrapped car. Contract terms typically run for a one-year period, and there's a 1,500-mile-a-month driving requirement. (If participants drive less than that, payments are reduced proportionally.)

Tenby says his database of drivers has grown to 100 already. And while Canadian advertisers are slow to show their support-and there are no sales to speak of at present-Tenby is confident the opportunity will present itself. "Targeting the vehicles is one of the selling features," he says. "Anything is possible."

This article was originally published in the May 2001 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: On The Move.