EcoCab will roll out again on Earth Day this April, but with a few improvements and expansions. This year the fleet of human-powered vehicles will expand to up to 60 cabs, and will cycle around the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) grounds, Harbourfront Centre and Ontario Place, with extended service hours and more access to sports games.
Also, in order to accommodate requests from some of last year’s sponsors, some cabs will be equipped with audio and video systems. ‘One of the sponsors last year had certain video content that they wanted to show – promoting website, online contests, or a looped promotional video – and they had asked us if we were able to show them in the cabs,’ says Will Kozma, president GO Mobile Media, a Vaughan, Ont.-based OOH specialist. But because the cabs were electrically challenged, this posed a problem. This year, some will be powered by batteries that Kozma says are eco-friendly and recharge by the driver pedalling.
Boasting a clean safety record, last year the cabs had 90% occupancy rate, Kozma says, and sponsor Lipton Green Tea received 35 million media impressions over the course of the summer. Occupants are skewed female on evenings and in areas like the entertainment district. This year the program is also unrolling in Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, and will be extended until the end of October. GO Mobile Media estimates each cab in the fleet will receive about 80,000 to 100,000 impressions per day.
The combination of an OOH advertising component with event marketing, PR and interactive consumer experience is beneficial to brands who want to make an impression, says Kozma. ‘That really allows brands to leverage multiple media forms by being a part of the program,’ he says.
Kozma could not confirm this year’s sponsors, but an information session is scheduled for Feb. 10 at 9:30 am at the InterContinental Toronto Yorkville Hotel, 220 Bloor St. W.
