Waller Emergency Services and Goff-Waller Roofing are on the move -- literally. In an effort to get people talking about them, the sister companies are promoting their services with ads wrapping two transit buses in Polk County, Fla.
The most humorous ad is on the back ends of the buses, showing a "Mr. Bean"-ish bald man, water dripping on his head. The text asks: "Got a leak? Got a flood?"
"I have more conversations now about the buses than anything," says Jimmy Waller, vice president of development for the companies. "Those are the conversations that lead to jobs."
He appropriated the idea from a home builder who ran ads on eight buses.
"I always look for ways, if we're going to spend this money, that I can separate myself from our competition," Waller says.
The Waller group of companies, which includes remodeling/new homes arm Waller Construction, spends 5% of its $8 million revenues on marketing, and Waller worked the buses into his "marketing for life" approach. The approach aims to infiltrate people's thought processes, so when they need the constantly seen and advertised services, they dial Waller.
The cost to produce and install the vinyl bus wraps was $13,000 for two buses. Advertising fees are $600 per month. Waller figures if he spends $50,000 over five years, he'll need to bring in $500,000 in jobs to pay for the ads. Not a small investment, but as Waller says, "if I can get people talking about what we're doing, and it's creative and lighthearted, we can follow that conversation up with asking for their business."
Ads for Goff-Waller Roofing and Waller Emergency Services wrap around two transit buses in Polk County, Fla.
