This startup is driving the Maryland housing department’s latest ad campaign

In three Southern Maryland counties, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development is tapping into a new mobile strategy to get the word out about incentives for first-time homeowners.
Ads for the Maryland Mortgage Program are wrapped on more than 20 cars in St. Mary’s, Charles and Calvert Counties.
It’s the result of the state’s work with Carvertise. The company, based in Wilmington, Del., and covered often by sister site Technical.ly Delaware, works with advertisers and drivers who are willing to wrap their cars. The company’s initial growth came in the Delaware, New Jersey and the Philly area, and this is the latest expansion along the East Coast.
“This is really the first time it’s been in the state of Maryland,” said cofounder Greg Star.
Carvertise arranges the logistics of wrapping the cars. The company also locates drivers and provides training. Starr pointed out that, in this case, the drivers are making money that was initially funded by taxpayers.
DHCD Assistant Secretary Matt Heckles said he learned about Carvertise while working in Delaware’s housing department. He said the department was seeking another way to get the word out about the program in the Southern Maryland counties, as the state is already using digital and other media. Heckles said the state liked that it was a creative approach that offered a new way to target a specific area. With the program being new to the area, the advertising approach causes people to take notice.
“The shock factor of seeing the car drive past you with that advertising gets people’s attention, certainly more than a billboard,” Heckles said.