Props On Tops

Do I have to advertise with your paperboy prop? 

Not at all. Every client’s prop will be unique to them.  We build new props for each campaign.  We advise clients to take an existing iconic image or theme from their current marketing assets, and we will transform it into a three-dimensional prop.  There are a few engineering restrictions, but within those parameters, we can build almost any shape your best creative minds can design. 

What demographic do you reach with your distribution? 

While we are an outdoor advertising company, and therefore reach a broad spectrum of the market, our impressions are really focused in high density commercial centers and corridors, such as Downtown, Century City, the Ventura Corridor, the Westside, etc.  This is because messengers spend the majority of their days delivering packages to and from office buildings in these high density areas.  As a result, our props receive concentrated impressions in these commercial centers. 

What do you base your impression numbers upon? 

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we look to other forms of transit media in determining our impression levels and pricing.  For example, in Los Angeles, placing advertisements on the tops of 30 taxis will deliver a 5% showing.  While we are confident that our props receive substantially more impressions than taxi advertising (for reasons explained below), we conservatively base our deliverables on these already-existing numbers.  

How is a prop different than a taxi-top? 

There are two very substantial differences:  Our route and our product.  

The messenger route is dramatically different from a typical taxi route.  Unlike taxis, which spend a lot of time idling in queues and making runs back and forth from the airport to homes and hotels, messengers are constantly penetrating high density commercial centers and corridors.  When they stop at an office building, it is usually in the carriage area right in-front of the building.  And then they are off to fight traffic in densely congested corridors to get to their next commercial stop.  (Additional information about our route can be found here.) 

As for our product, it really is difficult to compare it to other forms of outdoor advertising.  The overwhelming majority of existing outdoor advertising is based on plain flat panels with no shape or dimension.  (And with the exception of digital billboards and LED taxis, are just square poster panels.)  A prop is able to communicate a dynamic message that flat poster panels cannot.  A prop’s silhouette, depth and graphic all contribute to create a unique scene that sits on the roof of our cars as they drive throughout the city.  Additionally, the contrast of a three-dimensional prop on the top of an otherwise nondescript car truly grabs people’s attention.  It is not hyperbole to say that nowhere else in the outdoor landscape can such a unique and eye-catching product be found.  (Additional information about our product can be found here.) 

How does your cost compare to other outdoor products? 

We are positioned generally at the same price point as “bus kings.” 

How do I know my ads are actually on the roads and that they are in good condition? 

We conduct strict in-person weekly audits of every messenger we use.  Their cars are checked to ensure cleanliness and that there are no major scratches or dents, and props are checked to ensure that they have not been graffitied.  All audits are accompanied by photographic records.  Additionally, we require messengers to provide weekly proof of full-time employment and we also monitor their odometers as an additional measure of accountability. 

Don’t messengers have really old and beat-up cars? 

Some of them do but not ours.  We admit only drivers with cars that are in good condition into our program.  We are very strict about this requirement.  

Where do the messengers travel and can I see a sample route? 

Please click here to read more about our messengers and here for a sample route. 

Are you adding more traffic to the already crowded roads? 

We don’t add a single car to the roads.  Every driver that carries our prop is currently employed by a commercial messenger service and would be on the roads the same amount of time even if they didn’t have a prop on their roof.  

Additionally, Props On Tops is committed to environmentally conscious business practices.  Whenever practical, we take extra measures to lessen the impact of our business on the environment, such as recycling all of our used props.  We strive to be good corporate citizens and will continue to look for ways to reduce our environmental footprint.