You may have heard rumors that you might get paid to drive your car, or in some cases, get a car to use for free. While participation is limited and it takes luck in addition to living in the right place for a particular campaign, you may get paid to have your car (or a car given to you) become a moving advertisement. If you drive 800 miles or more a month on heavily populated roads in your normal driving clothes, you may want to check out the companies that offer car wraps.
The concept is quite simple. Advertising space on billboards along busy roads and highways is limited and in some places not allowed at all. However, it is possible to reach many of these people in another way. Companies advertise on the exterior of cars to reach those same people. The problem is that buying an entire fleet of cars for an ad campaign can be too expensive, so a solution was developed.
Instead of buying their own cars, companies sometimes “rent” space in cars from private citizens. In exchange for allowing a company to “wrap” your car in their advertising, they will pay you a monthly fee. Fees can be as high as $ 400 per month for a full car wrap and less for a partial car wrap or window wrap.
Another option that some of these companies offer in lieu of car wraps is to give you a free car with ads already on it. You are not usually paid on this deal nor can you choose the type of car provided, but you do receive free use of the car during the campaign period. Your only costs are gas and insurance, which means you get transportation at a fraction of the cost of owning your own car. There are some rare cases where you can get paid by receiving a free car. Some companies will pay you to drive the free cars along certain specific routes every day.
So what is the catch? The main one is that there are many more drivers who want the positions than the advertising campaigns available. If you don’t drive many miles or live in a densely populated area (large college campuses seem like an ideal place) where your ad will be seen by a population that advertisers crave, your chances of being chosen are slim. Most companies require you to drive a minimum of 800 miles per month. Not driving enough miles can void the contract, and most companies use global positioning systems (GPS) in your car to track the miles and places you drive each month.
Most programs require you to be 18 years old, have a clean driving record, and have your own auto insurance. In most cases, traffic violations will prevent you from being considered. The contracts vary in duration and amount paid depending on the type of advertising in the campaign involved. Most companies do not allow you to choose the advertiser, but they will allow you to withdraw if the advertiser goes against their moral values (cigarettes, alcohol and sex).
With the concept, there are a growing number of websites that don’t actually offer car wrap service, but claim to be a database for advertisers to find people willing to advertise on their cars. Many offer free registration, but then encourage you to buy a “premium package” that is supposed to move your name higher on the list. The fact is, they are highly unlikely to pick you up from these services, so it is not worth the time (and definitely not the money) to sign up with them.
While the chances of being chosen are slim, they are better than playing the lottery. If you qualify and live in an area that you think would be desirable for advertisers, it might be worth the 15 to 30 minutes it takes to fill out the forms online. If you are lucky and choose it, it will significantly reduce your driving expenses with little effort on your part.