Would you drive a "wrapped" rental car to save money?
You bet your ass I would! If I was renting a car in a strange town and I could save a couple hundred bucks by driving a moving ad, I’d do it in a heartbeat. Who cares what people think! I’d even try to get paid to drive a wrapped car in my own town.
A car wrap is simply an enormous advertisement that can cover the doors, hood, roof, or trunk of a car. The car rental fee is subsidized by the advertiser in order to have a travelling ad rolling throughout major metropolitans areas.
Between August 10th and November 8th, Budget Rental Car is offering wrapped rental cars to Atlanta drivers. Budget is offering 15 full-size sedans and 10 intermediate SUV’s in the discount program. The cars are covered in ads for Sheets Brand Energy Strips.
I went to the Budget website to see just how big a discount I could get. I entered two identical reservations for Labor Day weekend picking up at Hartsfield airport on 9/1 and returning on 9/5. For a full-size car, the estimated fee for the weekend was $433. For a “sponsored rental”, in this case a wrapped Kia Optima, the weekend would cost $165. That’s a savings of $268 for a 4 day rental!
I think this program is a huge win for the consumer, the advertising agency, and Budget Rental car which is getting quite a buzz.
How much would you need to save in order to drive a car wrapped in ads? Would you only do it on vacation or in your home town too?
Photo: Wrap Media Group
