Local taxis to become advertising

Emphasis Marketing was founded in May 2005. The company's goal, according to co-founder Kurt Theobald, is to look at new methods of marketing and advertising.

The first method, set to launch in March, is not a new concept - but it's new to Springfield. Taxi-top advertising has been used in large metropolitan areas from New York to Los Angeles for years.

“We'd seen some ads on the sides of rickshaws in New York City,” he said. “We knew the profit margins on that type of advertising were immense, so we thought, 'Why couldn't we put advertising on taxis here in Springfield?'”

Theobald said he has contracts with 37 of the 55 to 60 taxis in Springfield - the number of taxis on city streets varies depending on the season.

Theobald added that, despite the spread-out nature of the city and the lack of a significant walking population, taxi-top ads can be as effective in this market as they have been in the larger cities.

“It's a newer type of advertising, but it's one that businesses in bigger cities have embraced,” he said. “We have a unique three-sided advertising fixture, designed so people walking on the sidewalk and people driving have an equal opportunity to have a look at that advertising. It improves the quality and the quantity of the impression.”

The company is partnering with other local companies to put together the taxi-top ads. Sharp Signs and Polyfab Plastics and Supply Co. are working to put the signs together, while Barkers' Frame and Collision Inc. will do the installation work, and Digital Print Ink is putting together promotional materials for Emphasis Marketing.

Click here for the full story from Feb. 6.