THERE is nothing new to advertising on taxis — in the United States, taxi-top advertising on yellow cabs has been well-established for decades. However, in Jamaica, this segment of the advertising market has largely been untapped — until now.

Two young entrepreneurs — Andrew Bruce, 29 and Mayer Matalon, 23 — are using the concept to add another dimension to advertising in Jamaica.

Just over a year ago, they set up their own company — Taxi Ads Limited, which offers clients the “flexibility and high visibility” of a taxi-top display. The company’s sales pitch is centred around the idea that a taxi-top advertisement gets maximum attention from potential consumers because it’s right at eye level, and it has a wide reach because the medium is mobile.

Taxi Ads uses a business model in which it enters into contractual arrangements with taxi operators, who agree to display messages from advertisers (Taxi Ads’ clients) for a fee. The messages are displayed on signs provided by Taxi Ads: A lighted rooftop display and a scrolling marquee tag inside the back windshield of a taxi.

Bruce told Sunday Finance that the idea to transfer the taxi-top advertising concept to Jamaica came from family.

“The idea was originally given to me by my two cousins Jonathon and Christian Watt who own and operate Copy Cat Limited. It’s not exactly a new concept. They were aware of its success in the first world. They simply pointed out the fact that it could be applied in Jamaica where taxicabs are an extremely prevalent form of public transport,” he said.

Fresh out of college and armed with a degree in Economics, Matalon, a relative of Bruce, joined the business. Matalon said that, for him, the business venture was simply the right thing at the right time.

“I’ll admit that my training in Economics bears little relevance to the field I’ve chosen,” acknowledged Matalon. “It’s important to me to find a way to exercise those skills in the future, but for now my position affords me the opportunity to develop a much broader skill set than I would have had I taken an analyst position straight out of school. Both Andrew and myself are involved in every facet of this business.”

Given the prevalence of multiple media of advertising available locally, the two agree that the idea to add taxi tops to the fray, was not without its risks, and challenges.

“In the very early stages of the company’s development we wouldn’t have said that its success was an absolute certainty,” Bruce said. “We’ve learned a lot since then. Both about the nature of the taxi business in Jamaica and about the extent of our own capabilities.

“Every obstacle we’ve overcome was instrumental in the development of our current model, which allows for the effective monitoring and maintenance of our signage,” he continued. “We didn’t know it would work, we only knew that we would work hard at it.”

The service, which is available islandwide, can cost advertisers between $9,000 and $11,000 per ad over the course of a month, depending on the desired number of taxi displays and geographical placement required.

The service is currently being utilised by a mix of Jamaica’s most easily recognisable brands, includng Tastee, which signed up for 100 taxi top ads in a week, and most recently, mobile phone giant Claro which has contracted multiples of 100.

Tastee director Simone Changpong said the company jumped at the opportunity to place advertisements with Taxi Ads because it felt that the initiative would help spread the Tastee brand “wide across the streets of Kingston”. According to Changpong, the move has paid off in the form of a noticeable sales boost and increased brand awareness.

“The positive feedback we have received has been tremendous and we have seen significant increases in the sales of our products, especially those that were lesser known to the public,” said Changpong. “Everywhere these taxis have gone, people have been drawn to the brightly coloured graphics, predominantly placed on the top of these taxis.”

The Taxi operators are paid $2,000 monthly to carry the Ads on their vehicles, but are required to meet basic operating standards.

“The vehicle must be registered as a Public Passenger Vehicle (PPV), the driver must have a valid driver’s license, the vehicle must look as if it’s well cared for and the driver must demonstrate a level of competence, discipline and maturity,” Matalon outlined.

In addition to the immediate earnings, taxi operators get another benefit from the partnership.

“Legally, we cannot designate a vehicle as a taxi if it is operating in that capacity illegally. As it stands now, the rooftop sign affords legal taxis the opportunity to differentiate themselves from the ‘robots’, allowing them to reclaim some of the market which is rightfully theirs,” Bruce said.

Everton Harris, an operator on the Papine to Downtown and Half-Way-Tree routes, told Sunday Finance that the number of passengers have increased since he started displaying the Ads.

“They feel safer in the cars with the signs on it than with the regular cars dem,” he said. “They say is foreign style and they ask if we working for the company, like Tastee.”

Even with the obvious benefit to them, taxi operators may seem less than ideal business partners, given their notoriety on the streets. However, Matalon said for this business they are perfect.

“With any advertising medium, number and frequency of impressions are high on the list of considerations that a potential client will make,” he noted. “Taxis follow the flow of the population. What better way to convey your message than by a medium which follows the very audience you are trying to reach?”