The surprising location of Carvertise’s biggest campaign yet

Until recently, Carvertise has been focused on campaigns within the region (Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey). The rolling-billboard startup has landed clients such as the ShopRite and Thomas Jefferson Hospital.

But now, as part of the company’s biggest campaign to date, Carvertise has 45 cars on the road some 1,600 miles across the country … in North Dakota. Between the five states, Carvertise now has 200 ad-wrapped cars on the road.

Why is this interesting? Because Carvertise landed this client through word of mouth. The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation was interested in using Carvertise’s unique product to promote its popular summer initiatives, including the Medora Musical outdoor summer series and the Bully Pulpit Golf Course. The nonprofit advocates for education and tourism initiatives in the North Dakota badlands.

North Dakota’s Theodore Roosevelt National Park. (Photo by Flickr user Jasperdo, used under a Creative Commons license)

Carvertise had a strong network of drivers locally but not in Bismarck, Minot and Dickinson, N.D. The Carvertise team didn’t really know anyone in their network that could reach out to the driving community where their new client was located, so they tried targeted advertising. They were able to recruit over 100 drivers through Facebook and Google AdWords, which gave them a nice pool of candidates to interview.

“The same concept appeals to everyday drivers there as it does here,” CEO Mac Nagaswami said in an interview.

After applications were captured, the screening process began over the phone. The pool was thinned to the 45 cars needed for the campaign, drivers were sent to Carvertise-contracted car-wrapping shops and it went off without a hitch, Nagaswami said. All in the span of two weeks.

The contract has even given Carvertise new ambitions. “Because we were able to set up and initiate this advertising campaign with such speed and ease, by extension it shows our capabilities in other markets nationally,” Nagaswami said. “This campaign in the badlands was a great first step in that direction.”