Mobile advertisement company Carvertise is expanding to the DC area

Mobile advertising company Carvertise has expanded into Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. The company is based in Wilmington, Del., and is covered often by our sister site Technical.ly Delaware.

The advertising company pays everyday car drivers to ride around with advertisements and brand messages on their vehicles. Carvertise decided to expand to the District after success in the Mid-Atlantic and demand from clients.

“DC is a unique market in that due to city regulations, there are no billboards allowed in the city and clients have limited out-of-home advertising opportunities. We heard this feedback from clients and recognized the great demand for alternative advertising in DC, resulting in the decision to move into the market, including Northern Virginia,” Cofounder Greg Star told Technical.ly.

The company was founded by Star and Mac Nagaswami in 2013 while they studied at the University of Delaware. Six months into business, Star joined Nagaswami as an intern and six months later, Nagaswami hired him full-time as a founding partner. The pair run the business today and since its inception, Carvertise reports having a national network of 425,000 registered drivers.

“We’re excited to take our growth to the next level,” Nagaswami said in a statement. “We’re ready to invest resources into the Washington, D.C. advertising space.”

Drivers earn a flat monthly fee ranging from $100 to $150 for participating in Carvertise campaigns. The company reports already launching partnerships with D.C. clients, including real estate tech company Houwzer, who expanded to the District from Philly earlier this year, and the American Academy of Dermatology.

“We have a dedicated team that focuses on outreach, screening drivers, and ensuring positive experiences with our campaigns,” Star told Technical.ly. He said the company connects with Uber, Lyft and everyday drivers through word of mouth, referrals, the website, other social media channels.

To date, Carvertise has already paid out $20,000 to local D.C. residents who are driving around with advertisements through the company. The company is completely financed by the revenue it gets from its customers, according to Nagaswami. Carvertise said it has launched car campaigns with leading brands such as Nascar, EA Sports and Sprint, among others. Overall, Carvertise has paid out $1.5 million to drivers throughout the U.S. and is currently active in 27 states.

Nagaswami said the company has plans to get 600,000 drivers registered on its platform by year-end, and D.C. is a key market for that growth. The car advertisement company also moved into Maryland a few years ago.

“The D.C. market holds a lot of promise for us,” Star said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to helping local clients and putting more money into the pockets of citizens of Washington, D.C.”