Truck Advertisers Drive into the Future
New committee works with OAAA and TAB

Sheila Hayes, Outdoor Adv. Assn. of America, for Signs of the Times Magazine

People will try anything to get into today's truck advertising. Fox News uses fleet advertising to promote its daily news broadcasters.

Thanks to new technological developments solidifying the marketplace for truck advertising, fleet advertisers can now scientifically gauge the impact of certain messages on a particular audience. As this slice of the outdoor pie continues to gain in popularity, its need for representation in the marketplace grows.

As such, the Outdoor Adv. Assn. of America (OAAA), Washington, DC, formed a committee to serve the needs of the growing number of mobile advertisers. The OAAA's Truck Adv. Committee's (TAC) most recent undertaking will provide standards, methodology and promotional ideas for mobile advertisers.

At a preliminary meeting in December 1999, representatives from more than 45 mobile billboard companies discussed goals and objectives for the future of truck advertising. In January, a steering committee began work on a strategic plan to establish several clear-cut goals. Among the items at the top of the committee's list:

• Establishing a clear marketing program for the industry, thus "reinventing" truck advertising as a new medium;
• Industry legislative representation and protection;
• Communications support;
• Timely research;
• Educational materials; and
• An online presence through the OAAA Website.

New TAB methodology

In addition to the TAC's undertakings, the Traffic Audit Bureau (TAB, New York) also has unveiled updated technology that confirms the amount of people exposed to a truck-advertiser's message. While individual companies have developed various forms of truck-tracking to garner specific information, TAB's new methodology sets standards and provides real numbers to gauge actual exposure.

Such high-tech methodology requires the use of a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking device, and is based on a data model from the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Performance and Monitoring Systems. As the truck travels, GPS data is entered into the model using custom software. This software then estimates the number of impressions visible to the occupants of cars passing the truck in both directions.

Using this estimate, a truck-advertising operator can provide clients a project statement detailing the total gross impressions during a completed campaign and the average daily effective circulation, per truck, for the advertiser's program.

Additionally, TAB will perform annual on-site audits with participating fleet- and truck-advertising operators to substantiate they correctly use the methodology and software.

Fleet Adv. Media Group (St. Paul, MN) design fleet graphics for a variety of advertisers.