AU2008207666A1 - Advertising Method and Medium - Google Patents

Description

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ORIGINAL

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Invention title: "ADVERTISING METHOD AND

MEDIUM"

Applicant: THOMAS MATTHEWS Associated Provisional Application No.: Application number 2007904716 filed 31 August 2007 The following statement is a full description of the invention, including the best method of performing it known to me: 00 O "ADVERTISING METHOD AND MEDIUM" Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of advertising and an advertising Imedium for use in motor vehicles and/or retail outlets and relates particularly, IN though not exclusively, to such an advertising method and medium that may Sbe used for advertising campaigns on taxi vehicles.

00 oO S 10 Background to the Invention Taxi vehicles are almost constantly on the road and therefore advertising agencies have sought to exploit the wide exposure they afford with suitable signage. Current methods of advertising on taxis use signage on the outside of the vehicle body on the boot or roof). One of the problems with these methods is that structures/frameworks need to be affixed to the vehicle. This creates issues relating to decreased fuel economy due to increased wind resistance for roof top installations, and damage to boots for boot installations i.e. damaged boot springs and holes drilled into the boot to affix framework.

The increased expenses of both additional wind resistance and/or damage to the boot are in some instances higher than the income generated from twelve months of advertising.

There is a prior art printing media available which is currently used on the windows of public transit vehicles such as trams and buses. This print media is a self-adhesive perforated vinyl film that provides one-way vision. It allows full colour graphics to be printed on one side yet offers good see-through vision from the other side. This appears to be a possible solution for advertising on the rear windows of taxis. However there are some significant limitations with this product. Firstly, the perforated vinyl film has an adhesive backing which is of such a nature that it needs to be applied and removed by a professional. This requires the taxi to be taken off the road for at least a few 00 O hours which results in lost revenue for both the owner and driver. This loss in N revenue is one of the reasons why taxi owners are reluctant to become advertising agents/ambassadors.

In addition, once this perforated vinyl film is applied it cannot be easily relocated which is also the reason why a professional is needed to carefully Iapply the film in the first instance.

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Secondly, the relatively high cost of this media together with the cost of N professional application and removal limit the number of potential campaigns 00 Oper year. Taxi owners and drivers would prefer fewer campaigns as each S 10 campaign change-over costs them lost revenue. This conflicts with the advertisers who would prefer a higher number of campaigns shorter in duration. Thirdly, in view of the potentially large volume of taxi's (6,000 in NSW alone) it would not be physically possible to change all taxis over to the same advertising campaign at the same time. It could take up to one to two weeks to have all taxis updated to a new campaign. This makes the rolling out of a large advertising campaign on the same day impossible. It also makes it difficult to know when to start charging the client for the campaign.

Fourthly, the prior art perforated vinyl has an adhesive backing for application to the outside of the window. This has two disadvantages: it can be tampered with by vandals, and driver visibility can be restricted when it rains as rain droplets fill the small perforated holes, especially when the rear window slopes at an angle as most taxi sedans are. It has been proposed to overcome this problem by applying a thin clear laminate over the outside of the perforated vinyl film. This stops the water filling the holes. However the clear laminate will also need to be applied by a professional which is expensive, plus the clear laminate is an additional cost. Furthermore, the laminate would not provide as clear vision as without the laminate, and it is likely to get dirty easily because it is on the outside of the vehicle.

The present invention was developed with a view to providing a method of advertising on taxis and a suitable advertising medium for this purpose which does not suffer from as many disadvantages as the prior art. A novel method 00 O of conducting an advertising campaign was also developed. It will be N understood that the advertising method and medium of the invention is not limited in its application to taxi vehicles, or indeed to other types of motor vehicles. It may also be used in stationary locations, such as retail outlets.

References to prior art in this specification are provided for illustrative Ipurposes only and are not to be taken as an admission that such prior art is IN part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.

00 SSummary of the Invention N According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of advertising on motor vehicles, the method comprising the steps of: providing a perforated planar material as an advertising medium, the perforations allowing at least one-way vision through the advertising medium, the perforated planar material having an advertisement printed on an external face thereof and being sized to fit on a window of a motor vehicle; and temporarily affixing the perforated planar material against an internal surface of the motor vehicle window so that the external face of the perforated planar material is visible from the exterior of the vehicle.

Preferably the perforated planar material is a non-self-adhesive perforated material which can be easily applied to, and removed from, the internal surface of the motor vehicle window by the owner and/or driver of the motor vehicle.

Preferably the external face of the non-self-adhesive perforated planar material is provided with a layer of an adhesive or semi-adhesive coating to allow the perforated planar material to be removably attached to the internal surface of the vehicle window. Typically said perforated planar material is a semi-rigid perforated plastics material which is cold laminated with the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating, the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating being distributed across the entire external face of the semi-rigid perforated 00 O plastics material so that the perforated planar material may be removably Cl affixed to the internal surface of the vehicle window by means of the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating. Preferably the semi-rigid perforated plastics material is provided with the layer of adhesive or semi-adhesive coating after the advertisement has been printed on the external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material.

IN A commercially available perforated plastics material such as the material sold r- Sunder the trade mark PanoramaStar and laminated with the adhesive coating 00 sold under the trade mark PanoramaStick is a suitable perforated planar 0 10 material for use in this embodiment of the invention. In this way, the printed perforated planar material with advertisement sits flat against the glass of the window. Preferably the perforated planar material is positioned against a rear window of the vehicle allowing persons driving behind the vehicle to readily view the advertisement.

In one form, said non-self-adhesive perforated material is a semi-rigid perforated plastics material that can support its own weight when affixed to the internal surface of the motor vehicle window at selected points.

Preferably the perforated planar material has about 30% to 50% open area.

The remaining amount is printable area whereby the advertisement is printed on the external face of the perforated planar material. More preferably the perforated planar material has about 50% open area and 50% printable area.

Preferably the perforations have a diameter of about In one embodiment the step of providing the perforated planar material involves providing the material in a rolled-up form that can be quickly unrolled to facilitate the step of temporarily affixing the perforated material. In one preferred embodiment, the step of temporarily affixing the perforated planar material involves adhering the perforated planar material to the internal surface of the motor vehicle window by means of the adhesive or semiadhesive coating provided on the external face of the perforated planar material. In another embodiment the step of temporarily affixing the perforated planar material involves adhering the perforated planar material to 6 00 O the internal surface of the motor vehicle window using strips of double-sided N low tack adhesive tape.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided an advertising medium for use on motor vehicles, the advertising medium comprising: Ia perforated planar material having perforations allowing at least one-way vision through the advertising medium, the perforated planar material having c an advertisement printed on an external face thereof and being sized to fit on 00

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Oa window of a motor vehicle, the perforated planar material being adapted to N 10 be temporarily affixed against an internal surface of the motor vehicle window so that the external face of the perforated planar material is visible from the exterior of the vehicle.

Preferably the perforated planar material is a non-self-adhesive perforated material which can be easily applied to, and removed from, the internal surface of the motor vehicle window by the owner and/or driver of the motor vehicle.

Preferably the external face of the non-self-adhesive perforated planar material is provided with a layer of an adhesive or semi-adhesive coating to allow the perforated planar material to be removably attached to the internal surface of the vehicle window. Typically said perforated planar material is a semi-rigid perforated plastics material which is cold laminated with the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating, the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating being distributed across the entire external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material so that the perforated planar material may be removably affixed to the internal surface of the vehicle window by means of the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating. Preferably the semi-rigid perforated plastics material is provided with the layer of adhesive or semi-adhesive coating after the advertisement has been printed on the external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material.

00 Alternatively, the perforated planar material may be a non-self-adhesive c perforated material which can be easily applied to, and removed from, the e( a internal surface of the motor vehicle window by the owner and/or driver of the motor vehicle. In this case, the non-self-adhesive perforated material is typically a semi-rigid perforated plastics material that can support its own weight when affixed to the internal surface of the motor vehicle at selected

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According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a 00oO method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage 0 10 locations in a target geographical region, the method comprising the steps of: registering each of the plurality of signage locations on-line via a website provided on the internet, the step of registration involving an owner or operator of the signage location providing identification information, and information regarding the signage location; certifying each signage location and giving the owner or operator of the registered signage location a personal ID that enables the owner to log onto the website; and, delivering an advertising medium in the form of a perforated planar material to the owner and/or operator of each registered signage location at the beginning of an advertising campaign, the perforated planar material having perforations allowing at least one-way vision through the advertising medium, the perforated planar material having an advertisement printed on an external face thereof and being sized to fit in a window of the registered signage location.

Preferably the perforated planar material is adapted to be temporarily affixed against an internal surface of the registered signage location window so that the external face of the perforated planar material bearing the advertisement is visible from the exterior of the registered signage location.

Preferably the signage location is a retail outlet or shop. Alternatively, the signage location may be a motor vehicle.

00 Preferably the step of registration further involves the owner or operator of the C signage location providing information regarding the signage location such as Ssize of a window of the signage location, and vehicle make and model (when the signage location is a vehicle).

Preferably the method of conducting an advertising campaign comprises the IDfurther step of requiring the owner or operator of each registered signage IDlocation to provide confirmation of installation of the advertising medium in the rsignage location. The confirmation of installation may be communicated 00electronically and uploaded to the owner's ID on the website.

c- 10 In one preferred embodiment of the method, at least some of the plurality of signage locations is a plurality of motor vehicles, and the step of requiring the owner and/or operator to provide confirmation of installation involves recording information on a particular motor vehicle by way of a first radio frequency identification device (RFID) fitted to the motor vehicle. In this case the motor vehicle will be required to drive in close proximity to an antenna or reader positioned at an agency, the antenna or reader being able to record information associated with the first RFID on the motor vehicle. At the same time, a photograph may be taken of a rear view of the vehicle. Optionally the planar perforated material bearing the advertisement and as positioned on the motor vehicle, may be fitted with a second RFID. The agency may also accordingly record information associated with the second RFID such as details of the advertisement, and this information may be used to verify that the correct advertisement has Leen placed on the correct motor vehicle. The information retrieved in this way from one or both of the first RFID and the second RFID may be uploaded:onto the website. In this way, information such as the nature of the advertisement and its date of installation for a particular motor vehicle may be recorded on the website for ease of reference. The motor vehicle will be required to drive in close proximity to the antenna positioned at the agency on a regular basis such as once a week, to record information associated with the first RFID and the second RFID so that regular information on the motor vehicle may be recorded and verified.

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Alternatively, the step of requiring the owner and/or operator to provide confirmation of installation could involve the owner and/or driver providing a digital photograph of the outside of the registered vehicle showing the window in the which the advertising medium is installed, the photograph also showing Nthe registered vehicle's number plate.

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In one preferred embodiment of the method the plurality of motor vehicles are Staxis. Preferably a taxi agency provides a call service for the plurality of taxis, 00

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Sthe method further comprising the step of requiring the taxi agency to provide S 10 general GPS information for each of the registered taxis which can be analysed to provide an indication of the geographical spread of the advertising campaign in the target region.

Typically the step of requiring the owner and/or driver of each registered vehicle to provide confirmation of installation involves the owner and/or driver providing confirmation of installation at regular intervals throughout the duration of the advertising campaign.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers. Likewise the word "preferably" or variations such as "preferred", will be understood to imply that a stated integer or group of integers is desirable but not essential to the working of the invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings The nature of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description of several specific embodiments of the method of advertising and the advertising medium for use on motor vehicles, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

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00 Figure 1 is a rear side perspective view of a motor vehicle with a first C embodiment of the advertising medium according to the invention e( a affixed to a rear window; Figure 2a shows a rear view of the motor vehicle of Figure 1 showing the advertising medium affixed to the rear window;

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O Figure 2b shows a rear view of the motor vehicle of Figure 1 with a

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second embodiment of the advertising medium of the invention affixed c to the rear window; o00 Figure 3 illustrates the advertising medium of Figure 2b viewed from the exterior of the vehicle; Figure 4 illustrates the advertising medium of Figure 2b viewed from the interior of the vehicle; Figure 5 illustrates a sample of a preferred embodiment of the perforated planar material used as an advertising medium according to the invention; Figure 6 is a schematic drawing illustrating a first embodiment of a method of conducting an advertising campaign according to the invention; Figure 7 is a schematic drawing illustrating a second embodiment of a method of conducting an advertising campaign according to the invention; and, Figure 8 is a schematic drawing illustrating a third embodiment of a method of conducting an advertising campaign according to the invention.

Detailed Description of Preferred Embodiments A preferred embodiment of the method of advertising on motor vehicles in accordance with the invention, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2a and 2b, 00 O comprises the step of providing a perforated planar material 10 as an N advertising medium, the perforations allowing at least one-way vision through the advertising medium. The perforated planar material 10 has an advertisement printed on an external face thereof and is sized to fit on a window of a motor vehicle 12, in this case a rear window 14 of the motor vehicle 12. The method further comprises the step of temporarily affixing the Iperforated planar material 10 against an internal surface of the motor vehicle window 14 so that the external face of the perforated planar material 10 is N visible from the exterior of the vehicle 12. The perforated planar material 10 is 00 affixed in such a manner that the advertisement on the external face of the C material is clearly visible through the rear window 14.

The perforated planar material 10 is a non-self-adhesive perforated material which can be easily applied to, and removed from, the internal surface of the motor vehicle window by the owner and/or driver of the motor vehicle.

In a preferred form of the invention the external face of the non-self-adhesive perforated planar material 10 is provided with a layer of an adhesive or semiadhesive coating (not clearly visible in the Figures) to allow the perforated planar material to be removably attached to the internal surface of the vehicle window. The perforated planar material is a semi-rigid perforated plastics material which is cold laminated with the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating, the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating being distributed across the entire external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material so that the perforated planar material 10 may be affixed to the internal surface of the vehicle window by means of the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating.

Preferably the semi-rigid perforated plastics material is provided with the layer of adhesive or semi-adhesive coating after the advertisement has been printed on the external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material.

As noted, the perforated planar material 10 is preferably a non-self-adhesive perforated material which can be easily applied to, and removed from, the internal surface of the motor vehicle window 14. Because it is easy to apply it does not require a professional tradesperson, but can be done by the owner 12 00 O and/or driver of the motor vehicle 12. A suitable semi-rigid perforated plastics material is the perforated PVC film sold under the trade mark "PanoramaStar" by Continental Grafix Ltd. The preferred perforated planar material 10 has open area and 50% printable area, and has a white surface on the external face suitable for printing full-colour graphics, and a reverse black surface for maximum contrast. Perforated films with 30% "openness" are also IN available. Figure 5 illustrates a full size sample of a suitable perforated planar r- material 10 with 50% openness, in which the perforations each have a 0 N diameter of about 1.5 mm.

00 A perforated plastics material sold under the trade mark PanoramaStar and laminated with the adhesive coating sold under the trade mark PanoramaStick is a preferred perforated planar material for use in the invention.

The white surface on the external face of the PanoramaStar film is digitally printed with an advertisement and the adhesive coating called PanoramaStick is cold laminated over the advertisement. The adhesive coating is in the form of a series of small adhesive dots on a thin plastic liner. Once the liner is removed the adhesive dots are transferred onto the external face of the film bearing the advertisement. The series of dots forming the adhesive layer then allow the perforated planar material 10 in the form of the PanoramaStar film to be readily affixed against an internal surface of the motor vehicle window 14 so that the external face of the perforated planar material 10 is visible from the exterior of the vehicle 12 as shown in Figure 2b.

The adhesive coating in the form of the series of small adhesive dots is a "differential" adhesive meaning it is a more aggressive adhesive on the side that applies to the non-self-adhesive perforated material, and a less aggressive adhesive on the side that applies to the glass. In this way, the perforated material may be removed and reapplied to the glass a number of times without loss of adhesive properties. This is referred to as a relocatable adhesive. This allows the perforated material to be readily removably affixed to the internal surface of the glass motor vehicle window 14. In this way, the perforated material may be easily positioned on the window by even an 00 0 inexperienced installer. If the material is incorrectly placed on the window it Ncan be easily removed and re-positioned a number of times until it is satisfactorily positioned.

Typically the non-self-adhesive perforated material is a semi-rigid perforated plastics material that can support its own weight when affixed to the internal Isurface of the motor vehicle window 14 at selected points. In another form of Ithe invention and as illustrated in Figure 2a, the perforated planar material r'- Sis provided in a rolled-up form that can be quickly unrolled to facilitate the step oo of temporarily affixing the perforated material. In this embodiment temporarily 0 10 affixing the perforated planar material 10 involves adhering the perforated planar material to the internal surface of the motor vehicle window 14 using a plurality of strips of double-sided, low-tack, adhesive tape 16. The doublesided adhesive tape is more adhesive (high tack) on the side that sticks to the perforated PVC, and less adhesive (low tack) on the side that sticks to the glass. It leaves no residue on the glass, and can be removed and re-applied multiple times without losing tack. This allows the advertising medium to be quickly and easily installed. The strips of double-sided tape 16 are provided along the top and bottom edges of the perforated planar material 10, which is cut and sized to fit snugly within the rear window 14 of the motor vehicle 12.

It will be appreciated that the above described advertising method and medium overcomes many of the limitations of prior art advertising methods on taxis. The perforated, non-adhesive, semi-rigid PVC advertising medium can be easily installed on the inside of the rear window by the owner, driver, or just about anyone. Because the taxi does not need to be taken off the road the taxi owner is far more likely to consider becoming an advertising agent I ambassador. Because the material does not require a professional to install/remove, and because the advertising medium 10 is cheaper than other similar products, it becomes cost effective to run more campaigns which are shorter in duration. This makes four week campaigns possible which the advertising industry would find very attractive. Furthermore since the advertising medium 10 can be easily installed by the taxi owner/driver, the 00 0 present invention makes it possible to have all participating taxi's changed C over within a maximum of two days. All NSW metro taxi's (6,000+) can have C their campaign installed on the first day of each calendar month. Currently conventional methods of taxi advertising would take anywhere from one to two weeks to install a campaign on 6,000+ taxis. By installing the signage on the inside of the window it becomes tamperproof from the outside. By installing Sthe advertising medium 10 on the inside of the window it maintains good driver vision regardless of whether it is dry or wet outside.

00oO A first embodiment of a method of conducting an advertising campaign according to the invention will now be described with reference to Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings. The preferred method of conducting an advertising campaign according to the invention is facilitated by the ease with which a single advertising campaign can be rolled out to a large number of signage locations simultaneously in a target geographical region. The method typically comprises the step of registering each of the plurality of signage locations on-line via a website provided on a server 20 connected to the internet 22. In the illustrated embodiment the plurality of signage locations comprises a plurality of taxi vehicles 24. The step of registration typically involves an owner of a signage location, in this case an owner of the taxi 24, providing identification information, and information regarding the size of a window in which the signage is to be located. More specifically, the owner of a taxi 24 is required to provide information such as proof of ownership, vehicle registration, vehicle model and vehicle specifications such as window tints, and preferred driver regions (for example south/south east Sydney).

Each taxi 24 is then certified by confirming with the appropriate registration taxi agency (or other suitable registration office) that the identification information is correct, and the owner of the registered taxi 24 is then given a personal ID that enables the owner to log onto the website. At the beginning of a new advertising campaign the advertising medium, in the form of the perforated planar material 10, is delivered to the taxi agency 30 (or directly to the owner and /or operator of the registered signage location such as a taxi

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00 O 24). The perforated planar material 10 has an advertisement printed on the c external face thereof and is sized to fit in a window of the registered signage e( a location. In the case of the taxis 24, the perforated planar material 10 is sized to fit snugly in the rear window.

Because the perforated planar material 10 is lightweight and can be delivered IDto each signage location in a rolled-up form, delivery is preferably performed IDusing a delivery service 28, such as that provided by Australia Post, or ralternatively by a private courier company. In the illustrated embodiment 00oO shown in Figure 6, the signage on perforated planar material 10 is delivered C) 10 via the postal delivery service provided by Australia Post 28. Each advertising campaign is rolled up and packaged in a cardboard postage tube and mailed to participating owners of the taxis 24 three days prior to the end of each calendar month. Alternatively in a preferred form of the invention shown in Figure 8, the signage on perforated planar material 11 is delivered by way of a delivery service 28 to the taxi agency 30. Since all of the signage printed on the perforated planar material 11 is delivered to one location at the taxi agency 30, the material 11 can be readily flat packed and delivered for example in cardboard boxes readily for collection by each respective taxi driver. Typically on the first or second day of each month, the taxi owner or driver of each registered signage location (taxi 24) collects their assignment of advertising material 11 and then self installs it on the inside rear and/or side window of the taxi 24. Alternatively, an installer or a team of installers may assist in installing the advertising material as required. Other further procedures may be in place such as requiring the taxi owner or driver to report to the taxi agency to sign a form confirming that they have collected their signage material 11.

On the first two days of each calendar month vehicle owners and/or drivers install the advertising campaign in the rear window of the taxi 24. It is therefore possible to launch one single campaign with the same advertisement nation wide on 10,000+ taxis simultaneously. Each campaign 00 0 will typically be four weeks in duration which is ideal for most advertising C campaigns.

e( When a owner and/or operator installs the new campaign at the start of each calendar month they will typically be required to photograph the window in which the signage has been installed to provide confirmation of installation. In IDthe case of a taxi 24, a photograph of the rear window from the outside, IDincluding the vehicle registration number plate, will be required. The digital photograph can be sent by either SMS or email and is specifically coded so 00oo that it can be automatically uploaded to the owner's ID on the website. This way it is possible to confirm that the campaign has been successfully installed.

In a preferred form of the invention shown in Figure 8, each registered signage location or taxi 24 is fitted with a first radio frequency identification device (RFID) 32 on the inside front upper windscreen of the taxi 24, and a second RFID 36 on the perforated planar material 11. The first and second RFIDs are typically in the form of tags which can be adhered to the surface of the windscreen or the perforated planar material respectively. The first RFID retains information pertaining to the taxi 24, and the second RFID 36 retains information on the specific advertisement which is placed on the perforated planar material 11. Radio frequency identification is a wireless communication technology that uses radio frequency waves to transfer information between tagged objects and readers without line of sight. A reader or an antenna 34 is positioned at the taxi agency 30. Each taxi 24 is required to pass the antenna 34 at predetermined times. These times are typically a) when the signage is first installed ie on the first or second day of each month, and followed by b) once per week for the remaining three weeks of a monthly campaign. The taxi 24 will be required to drive in close proximity (about 4-8m proximity) to the antenna 34 positioned at the agency 30 on a regular basis such as once a week, to record information associated with the first RFID and the second RFID so that regular information on the motor vehicle may be recorded and verified. The following two options may be utilised for verifying that the advertisement is installed in the rear window of the taxi 24. As the taxi 24 00 O passes the reader or antenna 34 it detects and registers the information from N the first RFID 32. Upon identification of the taxi 24, a camera positioned Susually in close proximity to the taxi agency, is activated and photographs the rear window with the advertisement. The camera is typically wall mounted at a height of about 3-4 m in a location to be able to photograph the rear window of the taxi. Identification data of the taxi 24 together with the photograph are IN automatically uploaded to the website on the internet 22. Here the information is verified to ensure that the correct advertisement has been installed on the C1 correct taxi 24. As an alternative to using a camera to take a photograph of 00 the rear window, the second RFID 36 may be used to retrieve the necessary C1 information on the advertisement. In this way it can be verified that the correct advertisement has been placed on the correct taxi.

An agreed fee will be paid to each taxi owner per month. There is an incentive to ensure the campaign is installed on the first or second day of the month as payment will be pro-rata for each day of the month. For example, if confirmation of installation is not received via SMS or RFID identification until the third day of the month, then payment will be reduced by the percentage of days in that month, i.e. if there are thirty days in a month payment will be reduced by about 3.3% per day. The owner and/or operator of each registered signage location is required to provide confirmation of installation at regular intervals throughout the duration of the advertising campaign, for example, on a weekly basis in a four week campaign. Using the system of the first RFID and the second RFID, the owner and/or operator of the taxi 24 will be required to provide RFID verification a) immediately after installing the monthly campaign, and b) once per week for the remaining three weeks of a four week campaign. RFID verification involves the taxi driving in close proximity to the antenna 34 at the taxi agency 30 along a pathway 38 such as shown in Figure 8. This can of course be carried out when the taxi 24 is driving in the usual course of its work and is heading towards a taxi pick up destination 40. A light 42 may be used to signal to the driver of the taxi 24 that a signal has been received by the agency 30 and that their information has been recorded.

The taxi 24 can typically travel up to 50 km/hour past the agency 30 for a 00 0 successful read. However, for safety reasons a speed of 5-10 km/hour is preferred. There will of course be no need to stop the taxi and the driver can simply drive by on his way to a pick up destination 40 in the usual course of his duties.

Typically a taxi agency 30 provides a call service for the plurality of taxis 24.

IThe method of conducting an advertising campaign preferably further Icomprises the step of requiring the taxi agency 30 to provide GPS information 0 for each of the registered taxis 24. For an incentive based fee per taxi per oO month the taxi agency will provide general GPS information for all registered taxis 24, which will be graphed and presented to the advertising agency for each campaign. This information is critical to advertisers wishing to know the geographical spread of the advertising campaign in the target region.

For an agreed fee per month per taxi the taxi agency may have the option of providing the following information; 1. GPS information for each taxi for each month. GPS information may be formatted on a map showing where the taxi has travelled in a 4 week period. This information may be required for the client advertising who wishes to target a particular demographic or is required to show coverage exposure to justify their advertising spend. GPS information may also include total km travelled in the four week period. 2. The taxi agency will preferably dispatch all advertising campaigns to the registered taxi owners driver on the first and second day of each month and receipt they have been collected with a signature. This offers a controlled audited dispatch of advertisements to the owners drivers. 3. The taxi agency will preferably make available their premises for the installation of the RFID antenna and camera used to verify installation of the advertisement. This equipment may used to assist in verifying to the advertising client that every advertisement has been installed and installed correctly. Preferably compulsory weekly checks on each taxi will be carried out to help to ensure the taxi owner driver is undertaking their responsibility. This assists in offering comfort to the advertising client. 4. The taxi agency will also preferably actively seek new ambassadors taxi owners by a link on their website, 00 O promotion in monthly newsletters and messages relayed direct to taxi using N their established in-car communications network. 5. Exclusivity may be Sgranted if advertising targets are met. For example, the taxi agency may grant _exclusivity of their agency to the owners of this advertising method if agreed targets of registered taxis are met for each year. For example if the first year target was to register 500 taxi's and if this target was met then this would Iguarantee exclusivity by the owner of this advertising method for the second year. This also applies for second year targets for exclusivity of the third year.

00 It is anticipated that this method of conducting an advertising campaign will 0 10 also be applicable to privately used motor vehicles. It would be a very similar process to the one described above for taxis, however there would be far more detail required during the online application/screening process for prospective drivers/ambassadors. Applicants would be subject to some basic psychometric testing to help align them to the desired demographic sought after by advertisers. This will help make the advertising more targeted. For instance luxury brands may be more inclined to advertise in more affluent suburbs etc. To be successful, applicants would need to drive the cars specially listed, not have rear window tinting, agree to wash the car at least once per fortnight etc. The successful ambassadors will be rewarded with a fuel voucher of a prescribed value per month. It is also possible to provide an inexpensive form of GPS tracking that can be fitted to each car so that the monthly road exposure of each vehicle can be reported to clients.

It is also possible to offer advertisers a "driving green" option on both taxi private vehicles. This is an initiative whereby an additional fee is charged to help offset vehicle emissions contributing to greenhouse gasses. Both carbon neutral and 100% carbon neutral options may be offered. This could be an advertising industry first, and would be very attractive to state governments who heavily regulate taxi advertising.

A further embodiment of the method of conducting an advertising campaign according to the invention will now be described with reference to Figure 7 of the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment the signage locations are a 00 O plurality of retail outlets 26. In other respects the method is similar to that N described above with reference to Figure 6, and therefore the same reference 0 numerals are employed for the similar parts. The method typically comprises the step of registering each of the plurality of retail outlets 26 on-line via a website provided on a server 20 connected to the internet 22. The step of registration typically involves an owner of the retail outlet 26 providing Iidentification information, and information regarding the size of a window in of r- the retail outlet in which the signage is to be located. Each retail outlet 26 is 0 N then certified by confirming with the appropriate registration office that the 00 identification information is correct, and the owner of the registered retail outlet C 26 is then given a personal ID that enables the owner to log onto the website.

Currently retail outlets employ a signage professional to apply signage to the inside or outside of windows using conventional techniques. For example, if Just Jeans or ANZ wanted to roll out a retail window marketing campaign to fifty stores then this would require a professional to install a sign in the window of each store. This is costly and one campaign may take up to one to two weeks to install nation-wide. Using the preferred method of the present invention campaigns can be mailed out and signs can be self-installed on shop windows nation-wide on the same day.

At the beginning of a new advertising campaign the advertising medium, in the form of the perforated planar material 10, is delivered to the owner and/or operator of each registered retail outlet 26. The perforated planar material has an advertisement printed on the external face thereof and is sized to fit in a window of the registered retail outlet 26, typically a shopfront window. The general concept is that the measurements of a shopfront window of each retail outlet 26 are put on the website. A new order can be made on-line using the existing window measurements. The new artwork is uploaded and then printed. A new campaign can be simply posted out to each registered retail outlet 26 to self-install.

Because the perforated planar material 10 is lightweight and can be delivered to each retail outlet in a rolled-up form, delivery is preferably performed using 00 0 a postal delivery service, such as that provided by Australia Post, or C alternatively by a private courier company. In the illustrated embodiment, the signage on perforated planar material 10 is delivered via the postal delivery V service provided by Australia Post 28. An advertising campaign is rolled up and packaged in a cardboard postage tube and mailed to participating retail outlets 26 three days prior to the end of a calendar month. On the first day of IDthe calendar month retail outlets 26 self-install the advertising campaign in r- their shopfront window. It is therefore possible to launch one single campaign c with the same advertisement nation-wide on a large number of retail outlets oo 00 simultaneously.

Another unique benefit of advertising medium 10 of this invention is that it is re-usable. Advertising campaigns can be re-used multiple times i.e. two advertisements could be rotated one per week for four weeks. It is impossible to do this with conventional adhesive window advertising media. Conventional adhesive window advertising media is destroyed when removed from the shopfront window.

When a owner and/or operator of the retail outlet 26 installs the new campaign they may be required to photograph the shopfront window in which the signage has been installed to provide confirmation of installation. The digital photograph can be sent by either SMS or email and is specifically coded so that it can be automatically uploaded to the owner's ID on the website. This way it is possible to confirm that the campaign has been successfully installed.

Now that preferred embodiments of the method of advertising, an advertising medium and a method of conducting an advertising campaign have been described in detail, it will be apparent that they provide a number of advantages over the prior art, including the following: The advertising medium can be easily installed by the owner and/or operator of the signage location thereby avoiding the cost of a professional.

(ii) It can be installed quickly thus minimising downtime and facilitating the rapid rollout of an advertising campaign.

00 0 (iii) As it is installed on the inside of the window it is tamperproof, and does not N' require any structural alterations to the vehicle or shopfront.

(iv) It enables a single advertising campaign to be rolled out to a large number of signage locations simultaneously.

It will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the relevant arts that various IDmodifications and improvements may be made to the foregoing embodiments, ID in addition to those already described, without departing from the basic (N inventive concepts of the present invention. For example, the perforated 00 planar material 10 may be a cling film material which can be temporarily c- 10 affixed to an internal surface of a window by static adhesion. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described.

Claims (28)

1. A method of advertising on motor vehicles, the method comprising the V steps of: providing a perforated planar material as an advertising medium, the ND perforations allowing at least one-way vision through the advertising medium, ID ND the perforated planar material having an advertisement printed on an external r"- face thereof and being sized to fit on a window of a motor vehicle; and 00 temporarily affixing the perforated planar material against an internal surface c 10 of the motor vehicle window so that the external face of the perforated planar material is visible from the exterior of the vehicle.

2. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to claim 1, wherein the perforated planar material is a non-self-adhesive perforated material which can be easily applied to, and removed from, the internal surface of the motor vehicle window by the owner and/or driver of the motor vehicle.

3. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to claim 2, wherein the external face of the non-self-adhesive perforated planar material is provided with a layer of an adhesive or semi-adhesive coating to allow the perforated planar material to be removably attached to the internal surface of the vehicle window.

4. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to claim 3, wherein the perforated planar material is a semi-rigid perforated plastics material which is cold laminated with the adhesive or senmi-adhesive coating, the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating being distributed across the entire external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material so that the perforated planar material may be removably affixed to the internal surface of the vehicle window by means of the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating. 00 O O A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to claim 4, wherein the semi-rigid perforated plastics material is provided with the layer of adhesive or semi-adhesive coating after the advertisement has been printed on the external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material.

IN

6. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to claim 4 or claim wherein the semi-rigid perforated plastics material is the material sold under the trade mark PanoramaStar and is laminated with the adhesive or semi- 00 O Sadhesive coating sold under the trade mark PanoramaStick.

7. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the perforated planar material is positioned against the internal surface of the rear window of the vehicle allowing persons driving behind the vehicle to readily view the advertisement.

8. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the perforated planar material has about 30% to open area.

9. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to claim 8, wherein the perforated planar material has about 50% open area.

A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to claim 8 or claim 9, wherein perforations of the perforated planar material have a diameter of about

11. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of temporarily affixing the perforated planar material involves adhering the perforated planar material to the internal surface of the motor vehicle window by means of the adhesive or semi- adhesive coating provided on the external face of the perforated planar material.

12. A method of advertising on motor vehicles according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the step of temporarily affixing the perforated 00 O planar material involves adhering the perforated planar material to the internal 0 N surface of the motor vehicle window using strips of double-sided low tack Sadhesive tape.

13. An advertising medium for use on motor vehicles, the advertising medium comprising: Ia perforated planar material having perforations allowing at least one-way vision through the advertising medium, the perforated planar material having San advertisement printed on an external face thereof and being sized to fit on 00 Oa window of a motor vehicle, the perforated planar material being adapted to N 10 be temporarily affixed against an internal surface of the motor vehicle window so that the external face of the perforated planar material is visible from the exterior of the vehicle.

14. An advertising medium for use on motor vehicles according to claim 13, wherein the external face of the perforated planar material is provided with a layer of an adhesive or semi-adhesive coating to allow the perforated planar material to be removably attached to the internal surface of the vehicle window.

An advertising medium for use on motor vehicles according to claim 14, wherein said perforated planar material is a semi-rigid perforated plastics material which is cold laminated with the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating, the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating being distributed across the entire external face of the semi-rigid perforated plastics material so that the perforated planar material bearing the advertisement may be removably affixed to the internal surface of the vehicle window by means of the adhesive or semi-adhesive coating

16. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region, the method comprising the steps of: registering each of the plurality of signage locations on-line via a website provided on the internet, the step of registration involving an owner or operator 00 of the signage location providing identification information, and information C regarding the signage location; e( certifying each signage location and giving the owner or operator of the registered signage location a personal ID that enables the owner to log onto the website; and, IDdelivering an advertising medium in the form of a perforated planar material to the owner and/or operator of each registered signage location at the beginning N of an advertising campaign, the perforated planar material having perforations 00 allowing at least one-way vision through the advertising medium, the C 10 perforated planar material having an advertisement printed on an external face thereof and being sized to fit in a window of the registered signage location.

17. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to claim 16, wherein the perforated planar material is adapted to be temporarily affixed against an internal surface of the registered signage location window so that the external face of the perforated planar material bearing the advertisement is visible from the exterior of the registered signage location.

18. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to claim 16 or claim 17, wherein the step of registration further involves the owner or operator of the signage location providing information regarding the signage location.

19. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to any one of claims 16 to claim 18, wherein the signage location is a retail outlet or shop.

A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to any one of claims 16 to 18, wherein the method comprises the further step of requiring 00 the owner or operator of each registered signage location to provide c confirmation of installation of the advertising medium in the signage location. e( r.

21. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to claim wherein the signage location is a motor vehicle.

ID22. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to claim 21, the N step of requiring the owner or operator to provide confirmation of installation 00oO involving recording information on a particular motor vehicle by way of a first c 10 radio frequency identification device (RFID) fitted to the motor vehicle, the first RFID holding information relating to the motor vehicle.

23. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to claim 22, wherein the perforated planar material bearing the advertisement is fitted with a second RFID to retain information regarding the advertisement.

24. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to claim 23, wherein information from the first RFID and the second RFID is conveyed to the website.

25. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of signage locations in a target geographical region according to claim 24, wherein information from the first RFID and the second RFID is retrieved and read by an antenna or reader located at an agency such as a taxi agency before being conveyed to the website.

26. A method of advertising on motor vehicles substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

27. An advertising medium for use on motor vehicles substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 00 0

28. A method of conducting an advertising campaign using a plurality of cN signage locations in a target geographical region substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Thomas Matthews ID D by his Patent Attorneys IN Janet Stead Associates 00 c-i