Fri, Dec 05, 2008
University of Arizona student Joel Minteu pays people to advertise on their car windows. He's getting plenty of takers to display the ads, but advertisers have proved scarcer.
Benjie Sanders / Arizona Daily Star

Business

Student turns people's cars into ad traffic

By Shelley Shelton
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 03.31.2008
Joel Minteu wants to pay you to advertise on your car's rear window.
Through his new marketing company, Badere LLC and a Web site, www.paymeformycar.com, the 22-year-old University of Arizona student is soliciting drivers nationwide who don't mind giving up the blank space on their back windows in exchange for some extra money every month.
Minteu said his ideal drivers are stay-at-home moms and 18- to 25-year-olds — according to his research, two segments of the population that drive the most.
Minteu formally launched the business in December, and he said that by around the end of January he already had about 8,000 people in Tucson and about 800,000 people across the nation willing to turn their cars into moving billboards, he said. He pays anywhere from $50 to $100 per month, depending on the city and what he is charging the advertiser.
More challenging has been finding businesses that wish to place ads.
Minteu already has worked with three companies and is building from there. One of his clients is in North Carolina, while the others have been in Tucson.
He requires a minimum of 100 vehicles per ad campaign and charges $100 to $200 per vehicle, depending on the city, length of the campaign and type of lettering.
Serge Kuny has been advertising his 2-year-old shuttle and delivery service, World Express Services with Minteu and says he plans to continue.
"It did work well for me. We have a lot of calls. They say they saw the cars," he said.
Initially he was concerned that Minteu is so young, but Minteu quickly made it clear that he follows through with the plans he discusses with clients, Kuny said.
The idea is a good one because it is not something people are already flooded with, like radio commercials, brochures or traditional roadside billboards, he said.
Steriane Tchemy, 23, enjoyed advertising World Express on the back of her car last month in exchange for the $75 she earned, she said.
"It helped me pay my cell phone bill," she said. "It's a nice way to get easy money."
Tchemy said she drives a lot and travels to Phoenix in her car at least once a week, so the ad got a lot of exposure while it was on her car.
She'll gladly participate in any upcoming campaigns, she said.
Minteu has another year of school before he earns his accounting degree, which he feels has helped him understand some of the ins and outs of running a business.
As to whether he plans to be an accountant, he would only grin and say: "Why not? We'll see where the business takes me."
● Contact reporter Shelley Shelton at 434-4086 or sshelton@azstarnet.com.