Business cards on your car

[kashn]

I would not be offended if flyer/card was placed under wiper as long as it was not raining. Hate it when the paper is all mushy and somtimes sticks to the screen.

[KarlFranz]

paddy328 said:

I agree with whats been said so far, but not 100% with karl. I dont think someone that puts cards on your car would be using it to advertise their product, but rather to get your attention and yours alone. Its not as if they would put a sandwich board by your car or stick a poster on it advertising two for one pizza. I take your point though mate.

Well, not to get into a semantics battle, but just because something is meant to get my attention only doesn't mean it can't be considered targeted advertising (or promoting). I consider the junk mail in my mailbox promoting next week's sale at the local store to be advertising, even though I am the only one that will see it.

From the dictionary on my computer:

        advertise |ˈadvərˌtīz|
        verb [ with obj. ]
        describe or draw attention to (a product, service, or event) in order to promote 
        sales or attendance.

Regardless, I don't agree that you should be touching other people's private property. If I walked out of a restaurant to see someone hunched over the bonnet of my car lifting the wiper blade I would be concerned about their intentions.

One final observation, I'm a concours judge for several annual charity exotic car shows. As we evaluate each vehicle we make sure to tell all our judges that we are not to touch the owner's car. If we need anything moved or opened, we ask the owner to do it. That way there is no question of liability if anything breaks or snaps off. What would you do if, while lifting the blade off the windscreen of that Ferrari, you suddenly find yourself with the wiper arm in your hand? Would the potential aggravation be worth the cost of promoting your service?

Again, I believe in look but don't touch.

[paddy328]

Now that i agree with 100% I think it looks dodgy if someone was to leaning over trying to put something under the wiper blade and personally, i would be very embarassed if the owner came back as i was doing it. I wouldnt ever put my card under a wiper blade, but instead, in the drivers door glass/rubber. Just enough to hold it there, but like i said, ive only ever done it twice in x amount of years.

[DB9VolanteDriver]

KarlFranz said:

What would you do if, while lifting the blade off the windscreen of that Ferrari, you suddenly find yourself with the wiper arm in your hand? Would the potential aggravation be worth the cost of promoting your service?

Being a little melodramatic aren't we? It's business card under the wiper blade. You don't need to yank on the wiper to put it in place...

And a car parked on the side of the road or in a parking spot isn't in a concours. If I ever get near your car, please shoo me away. Wouldn't want to be liable for anything that might happen....

[KarlFranz]

DB9VolanteDriver said:

Being a little melodramatic aren't we? It's business card under the wiper blade. You don't need to yank on the wiper to put it in place...

And a car parked on the side of the road or in a parking spot isn't in a concours. If I ever get near your car, please shoo me away. Wouldn't want to be liable for anything that might happen....

Yes, I suppose it could be perceived that way. It's just that I was taught from a very early age to respect other people's property.

[AdamV8V]

Hi Francis,

Being in the marketing game (for my sins), one of the best way to get cut-through is to be as relevant to your audience as possible.

Have you thought about 'personalising' your cards based on the marque? For the cost of printing additional cards, it could be worth considering doing a small run of specific cards for AM / Ferrari / Porsche / Maserati / Merc / BMW / Lotus owners etc.

I know if I found a card saying that you offered a great detailing service I (a) wouldn't be annoyed you had left it there (so long as you hadn't broken off my wiper blade in the process ) and (b) would be much more likely to consider you if you state you are a specialist / experienced in working on Aston Martins.

You would need to able to back this up of course (i.e. you have actually done extensive work on these makes) but there's never anything wrong with pandering to an owner's ego that you recognise they have a lovely car and you have a service 'tailored' to them.

If you get one extra job as a result, I imagine that'll offset the additional printing costs.

Just a thought, and good luck!