Wednesday, August 12, 2009

"Make money by driving"

Make Money by Simply Driving Your Car
by Bobbi Dempsey
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
provided by

You probably have heard stories about businesses that will pay you just to drive around with an advertisement on your car, but do these opportunities really exist? And, if so, how do you find them?

They're called "free car" programs or "get paid to drive" promotions. These programs do exist, although they aren't as plentiful as they once were. The key is knowing where to look and having what it takes to make you an ideal advertising driver.


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How it works

Here's the basic premise of the "paid to drive" concept: A company seeks people -- regular citizens, not professional drivers -- to go about their normal routine as they usually do, only with a big ad plastered on their car. The ads are typically vinyl decals, also known as "auto wraps," that almost seem to be painted on the vehicle, and which often cover a large portion of the car's exterior surface.

The car owner is then compensated, usually a few hundred dollars per month, which is essentially a "rental" payment for letting the company use that space. In the past, there's also been a "free car" version of this concept. The company provided the driver with a new, prewrapped car. In this situation, the drivers usually didn't get any cash; their payment amounted to the free use of a new car. However, companies quickly discovered that giving away a bunch of free cars didn't make economic sense, so few still take this approach, says Drew Livingston, president of Free Car Media in Los Angeles.

What does the company get out of this type of ad strategy? Lots of exposure. The auto wraps tend to be colorful and eye-catching and attract lots of attention. Plus, it's a form of advertising with a captive audience, meaning people who are stuck in traffic and can't avoid seeing the wrapped car alongside them, Livingston says.

The companies usually select drivers who live in desirable locations such as high-traffic, urban areas. A company's ideal driver can vary depending upon the target demographic they want to reach, according to Brandon Clarke of DrivenMedia, a Phoenix-based advertising company that specializes in creating branded vehicle campaigns for clients. For example, a tech or electronics company may seek drivers who live on or near college campuses, so as to gain exposure with the college crowd.


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The vehicles in these programs are often equipped with GPS tracking devices, so the companies can make sure the drivers spend sufficient time in the desired areas.

'Paid to drive' primetime

Paid-to-drive programs were very popular five to 10 years ago. Gas was cheaper, and people were spending more time on the road. There were plenty of Web sites devoted to these programs, including many fee-charging sites that acted as a middleman and promised to connect willing drivers with companies seeking vehicles for their ads.

Then, fuel prices spiked and people weren't spending as much time in their cars, Clarke says. At the same time, online advertising became the rage.

Current opportunities

Still, there are opportunities out there, if you know where to look.

Livingston says his company's client companies still have plenty of campaigns running nationwide. Business slowed slightly right before the recession but returned when the economy started going south.

"Consumers are seeking ways to make money, while companies are cutting back on spending for television campaigns and looking for more affordable advertising strategies," Livingston says.

On average, Livingston's clients put about 800 to 1,000 wrapped cars on the road.

Like other similar companies, Free Car Media serves as a matchmaker. Interested consumers register at MyFreeCar.com and then are notified when they meet the criteria a client seeks in potential drivers.

Drivers are paid an average of $700 to $900 per month, with campaigns usually running a few months long. Drivers use their own cars which are fitted with the wrap. "They don't actually get a free car," Livingston says. "But the monthly payment is generally enough to cover their auto expenses like car payment, gas, etc., for the month, so that's where the name comes from."

It doesn't cost anything for drivers to sign up, and Livingston warns people to avoid any sites that do charge a fee.

"There are a lot of unscrupulous companies that want to charge you $20, $30 or more when you can get this information yourself for free. I get calls on a weekly basis from people who are upset because they were scammed," he says. Livingston says that anyone who is directed to his site after paying a fee to another service should demand a refund.

Adding to the confusion, many of the sites -- legitimate and questionable -- have very similar names, often some variation of the words "free" and "car." So it's important to check out the Web site carefully, watching for any mention of fees or membership costs.

Finding drivers

Clarke says his company puts a lot of effort into recruiting brand influencers, or drivers who are a perfect fit for the client's target audience.

"Recent engagements have focused on family-oriented and consumer driven advertisers who are generally trying to create awareness within a specific region among active moms with active families," Clarke says, adding that busy soccer moms would make perfect driver candidates for these campaigns. "With active families being such a coveted demographic, incorporating their vehicles is ideal since they're getting tremendous exposure parked in the pick-up line at school, at the Saturday morning soccer games, etc."

There are important criteria for driving candidates. "Background, driving record, employment verification, personal interview, as well as having mandatory minimum auto insurance coverage are part of the vetting process," Clarke says. "We're also looking to incorporate an online personality assessment tool and a short online defensive driving course."

Interested drivers can sign up for opportunities at Drivenmediaonline.com. "We compensate drivers within a range of $300 to $500 per month, with incentives and other engagements that allow them to earn more," Clarke says. "Our typical campaign lasts three to six months, with the time frame and vehicle type being the primary factors for determining their monthly compensation."
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Terrelle Pryor run 4.33 40yd dash

Wake me when Terrelle Pryor's fake 40 time eclipses speed of sound
By Matt Hinton
I'm pretty much sold on Terrelle Pryor as the awe-inspiring heir to Vince Young's torch as the lanky, multi-faceted, absurdly fast quarterbacking beast of every defense's nightmares. The Cleveland Plain-Dealer added another dimension to that today when it reported that Pryor is the fastest player on Ohio State's team, an innocent enough proposition until you get to the details:

His [Pryor's] 40 time was a speedy 4.33. Sophomore receiver Lamaar Thomas said he ran a 4.37 and no one else ran under 4.4 when the players were timed early this summer. ...

"I'm not so sure he might not be one of the fastest guys in the conference," OSU coach Jim Tressel said of Pryor. "I'm not sure that's a bad thing. Our other guys aren't slow."

If that time is correct, it would make Pryor not only the fastest Buckeye, but surely one of the fastest humans on earth. Consider that a 4.33 40 is significantly faster than any quarterback has run for the electronic clocks at the NFL Combine in the last four years, including Pat White (who turned in an official 4.55 in February at 197 pounds), and in fact more than a full tenth of a second faster than any running back or cornerback ran at this year's combine. Only one player at that entire event, Darrius Heyward-Bey, came in with a faster time (4.30) than Pryor's alleged 4.33. Of Pryor's six non-lineman teammates in Indianapolis -- a group that included Beanie Wells, Malcolm Jenkins and Brian Robiskie -- only one, cornerback Donald Washington, came in under 4.5 (4.49). In 2007, Ted Ginn Jr's "official" workout times ranged from 4.37 to 4.45, which knocked the scouts out. Ginn then weighed 178 pounds. Pryor's usual analog, Vince Young, reportedly ran the 40 in 4.58 seconds in 2006 at 228 pounds, on what was apparently considered a "fast track" in Austin. Some plausible (though hardly foolproof) speculation has suggested that a 4.33 is a hair faster than the time Usain Bolt turned in on the first 40 yards of his world-record 100-meter sprint in the 2008 Olympics, or than any other world-record 100-meter sprinter has turned in on the first 40 yards going back to Ben Johnson in 1988.

Terrelle Pryor is listed at 235 pounds. His long, gazelle-like stride does make him deceptively fast. But a legitimate 4.33 at 235 pounds would make him an actual gazelle. A human being of that size moving at that speed is not yet conceivable. This is not Florida-level fake, but still: Totally bogus.

Friday, August 07, 2009