Lagos has one of the worst road traffic situations in Nigeria. Many working class Lagosians spend more time in traffic than asleep. This makes street hawking and road-side buying an actual means of livelihood and an impossible thing to eradicate.
Nairobi has the worst traffic in Africa while Mexico City has the worst traffic in the world.
Brands, even spend tons of cash on billboards and lamp posts as a result of the fact that many eyes see their adverts while on the road; serving as reinforcement and a reminder for the (potential) customer.
According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria has an estimated vehicle population of 11,458,370 as at the first quarter of 2017, 53.8% of that number being commercial vehicles.
A startup named Drivertise hopes to take advantage of the number of cars (and eyes) on Nigerian roads; taking into consideration the fact that some small businesses could never afford a billboard or a lamppost but need the kind of reinforcement bigger brands benefit from. Even more, car owners who don’t fancy the transportation business can make this an alternate source of income.
According to its founder Gbolahan Faniran, “Drivertise is an advertising channel startup for brands which operates by pairing them with everyday car users who are willing to earn extra income by using their car as a medium of advertising. Adverts are placed on the body of the car by using car wrapping which are safe, stylish and leaves the car clean when the wrap is taken off after the campaign.”
As a result of the fact that startups, small and medium scale businesses are on the increase in Nigeria and large-scale businesses seeking cost effective ways promote products and service, Drivertise aims to help them reach their potential consumers in a new and more effective way.
Owners of the cars are called Drivertisers. Prospective Drivertisers will visit the website, www.drivertise.com.ng to sign up. They have the option of choosing the type of brand they want to carry around and the branding options (Full branding, Partial and Back glass).
Brands can select cars in locations they need the most impression and get analytics report on the daily movement of cars carrying their brand campaigns. Drivertise ensures that all Drivertisers are thoroughly vetted and trained to adhere to the strict rules of the company.
Advertising in Nigeria comes with a lot of sanctions for the slightest reason and as such the elephant in the room needed to be addressed. Reaching out to the startup owner on Drivertisers being accosted by LASAA (Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency) officers, he assured that aspect of the startup had been sorted.
