{"id":2869,"date":"2015-03-30T01:38:02","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T05:38:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/timandrewsblog-asicentral.com\/timblog\/?p=2869"},"modified":"2015-03-30T01:38:02","modified_gmt":"2015-03-30T05:38:02","slug":"asi-promocar-hits-the-open-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timandrewsblog-asicentral.com\/timblog\/2015\/03\/30\/asi-promocar-hits-the-open-road\/","title":{"rendered":"ASI Promocar Hits The Open Road"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes, companies need to try a crazy idea and have a little fun. If it works, great. If it doesn\u2019t, at least we get to say we tried something different.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, ASI created an art car we dubbed the ASI Promocar \u2013 a 2002 Mazda Prot\u00e9g\u00e9 our employees covered inside and out with an array of colorful promotional products, everything from logoed slinkys and stress balls to keychains and lanyards. Most of the items were generously donated by ASI suppliers.<\/p>\n

Our moving billboard is part of a year-long public relations campaign called \u201cDriving Serious Fun,\u201d designed to spread the word about the industry\u2019s creativity and ingenuity. In the past year, we\u2019ve displayed the Promocar at ASI trade shows in Chicago, Orlando and Long Beach, CA. Everywhere we bring it, people gawk, smile, take pictures and ask questions. Yes, we say, it is street legal (anyone can turn their vehicle into an art car as long as you obey a few sensible rules) and no, those things don\u2019t generally fly off, even at 60 mph (we used a lot<\/em> of glue).<\/p>\n

As much fun as it is, the Promocar serves a serious purpose: It opens up a conversation about promotional products and gives us a chance to brag about the low-cost, high-impact items that fuel a $21.5 billion industry to anyone who\u2019ll listen.<\/p>\n

Now, we\u2019re giving the Promocar a real road test. Starting March 30, ASI\u2019s PR manager, Dawn Marie, is driving it back to Pennsylvania from California, for a total of about 2,700 miles. From Los Angles, the car will stop in Flagstaff, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Memphis, Tennessee; Asheville, North Carolina; and Floyd, Virginia before ending its trip in Stockton, New Jersey on or around April 8. The car will then return to ASI headquarters in Trevose, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Throughout the trip, she\u2019s couchsurfing<\/a> with locals whenever possible as a tie-in to the freebie concept the promo products industry is based upon.<\/p>\n

Anyone who sees the car during its trip and posts a pic to social media with the hashtag #ASIpromocar can score a \u201cDriving Serious Fun\u201d T-shirt. Follow the car on Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>, Instagram<\/a> and on ASI\u2019s website, www.asicentral.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Since everyone loves free stuff, of course we brought along giveaways. Hopefully, we\u2019ll motivate end-users to consider advertising with promo products the next time they need to get the word out about something they\u2019re passionate about, whether it\u2019s a store opening, a charity 5K or even an employee wellness program. We\u2019re also letting people sign the inside \u2013 on the dashboard, steering wheel, radio, doors and even the ceiling.<\/p>\n

The reaction we get from kids is the best. They don\u2019t question anything \u2013 they just have a ball touching it and yelling out \u201cLook at the fun car!\u201d<\/p>\n

And, at a time when we conduct so much business electronically, it\u2019s wonderful to meet people face-to-face \u2013 especially in a car that\u2019s the epitome of \u2018mobile\u2019 advertising. Maybe we\u2019ll even inspire a few distributors to create an art car of their own. It\u2019s not only a conversation-starter, it\u2019s literally an advertising vehicle.<\/p>\n

Before we started this project, we researched art cars and consulted a number of expert enthusiasts like Costas Schuler, who covered his Mercedes with 10,000 pens, calling it the \u201cMercedes Pens.\u201d Their advice pretty much came down to this: Use a lot<\/em> of glue (GE Silicone II works wonders), make sure not to obstruct your sight lines or lights and be as creative as possible.<\/p>\n

After gluing like crazy, we splattered the car with some bright colors and even put some Keith Haring swirls on some of the stress balls. We also painted a road on the hood and the roof to go with our \u201cdriving\u201d theme.<\/p>\n

If the most famous company art car of them all, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile, collided with a Jackson Pollock painting, it might look something like the ASI Promocar. It\u2019s always a work in progress. Sure, some people don\u2019t get it. And that\u2019s OK, too.<\/p>\n

Our little Mazda already has 190,000 miles on it, and it\u2019s a long trip from one end of the country to another. Since this is a low-budget project, if the car does break down along the way, we\u2019ll call AAA and hope for the best. To date, we\u2019ve only lost a few items, mostly because people can\u2019t seem to resist pulling on things to see if they\u2019re really stuck. We also made sure to only use lightweight plastic and foam items so even if something does come off, it can\u2019t do any harm.<\/p>\n

So far, Schuler has driven his art car over 270,000 miles \u2013 an inspiring number. Wish us luck and keep an eye out for the ASI Promocar. Honk if you love promo products!<\/p>\n

Below are suppliers who generously donated items to the ASI Promocar:<\/p>\n