Talk about value add. This summer, Torontonians will be able to get a free eco-friendly cab ride and an ice-cold drink, courtesy of Lipton Iced Tea.
Toronto-based Go Mobile Media is bringing pedal-powered EcoCabs to Canada for a pilot test this summer, and Lipton jumped at the chance to sign on. Eight EcoCabs will give consumers free rides and drinks eight hours a day, five days a week. The cabs will be wrapped in Lipton ads and driven by university students who will chat up passengers about the brand’s health benefits. Plus, since the cabs are emission-free, it’s an easy way for Lipton to align itself with the green movement.
‘It’s a fun way to promote a very serious issue,’ says Alan Koval, director, sales and marketing, Pepsi-Lipton Partnership. (Koval is based out of both the Mississauga, Ont., Pepsi QTG headquarters and the Toronto Unilever Canada office.)
‘It’s an opportunity to really get our brand out there,’ Koval continues, adding that he was impressed with the vehicle’s sleek, futuristic design. ‘I want to exercise my right as a sponsor to drive one of these things!’
Go Mobile Media is ordering the cabs from a European manufacturer, and wrapping them in Toronto. Will Kozma, Go’s director of marketing, says the company will be seizing PR opportunities to highlight the EcoCab as an emission-free transportation.
‘The goodwill and PR are the true value,’ says Kozma. ‘The brand gets to be the hero.’
Packages begin at $28,000 a month for four EcoCabs, and go up from there. Go Mobile Media provides the staff (university students trained to chat up the brands), the cleaning, the storage and the customized ad wraps. At press time, there were still a few opportunities left for brands to get on board.www.gomobilemedia.com.
