Where there’s muck there’s brass – Councils given new tool to make money from bin lorries
Councils are looking to the old saying ‘where there’s muck, there’s brass’ by renting out space on their refuse collection fleets for promotional campaigns.
Local authorities can easily earn up to £1,000 a year, from just one lorry carrying advertisements for commercial companies and outside organisations.
While it is no longer uncommon for refuse trucks to carry promotional messages on their sides, mostly these focus on public information campaigns such as recycling.
However, an increasing number of local authorities are preparing to unleash the potential of their vehicles to create a much-needed new revenue stream to boost their budgets.
They are tapping into a big advantage that bin lorries have for spreading messages, which is that they travel down every street where people live and are highly visible.
Innovative Roadvert Predictor and iRoadvert Beacon
One innovation helping to spread this entrepreneurship is the Roadvert Predictor, a tool which gives advertisers a real idea of the value they will get from running campaigns.
Councils can even offer advertisers the chance to broadcast promotional messages from the vehicles to passers-by who have the right app on their smart device, phone or tablet, via a device called the iRoadvert Beacon that is fitted to the vehicle.
“Refuse collection vehicles are the only truly effective delivery solution for marketing in areas where other promotional methods cannot reach, or are simply too expensive to be viable,” said Lawrence Craig, CEO of Roadvert Media, which has produced the Roadvert online measuring system.
“Councils have seen the value of using their fleets to promote their own messages – now they are maximising the use of their assets to bring in extra income. The technology couldn’t have come at a better time for them.
“With the iRoadvert Beacon they can send messages such as ‘Don’t forget to recycle your plastic bottles’ to the council app on people’s phones and, of course, it has really exciting potential for advertisers.”
Spedian™ lightweight vehicle graphics system
Many councils across the UK have fitted their refuse fleets with the Spedian™ lightweight vehicle graphics system, produced by Roadvert, which is designed to allow for quick and easy changes of campaign materials.
“Councils are becoming more entrepreneurial,” explained Lawrence. “Years ago, a bin lorry would be painted in council livery and you’d barely give it a second glance.
“Nowadays refuse trucks are highly visible and carry a huge selection of public service messages about everything from Christmas parking arrangements to picking up after your dog in the park.
“All it takes is a change in mindset to extend that service to third party organisations – and the change is happening.”
The panels can be installed or uninstalled in less than one hour and leave no marks behind once removed. They can be rolled up, stored and used again at a later date, making them ideal for seasonal campaigns.
Messages broadcast from the iRoadvert Beacon can be programmed to change automatically when a vehicle moves from place to place, allowing messages to be tailored to promote nearby events, for example.