Mercedes-Benz Actros 2551 with mid-lift

TruckAdz, which sells advertising space on the sides of trailers, is introducing revolutionary new ad-tracking technology which is expected to boost revenue for UK hauliers. The new system, which has been christened AdzTracker, was developed in the USA, and is the first audience measurement system designed for a moving advertisement. “I now have a system that will put a truck on a map, tell me how many people have seen it, their age and what their interests are,” said Danny Shiers (pictured), MD of TruckAdz and sister company TruckSkinz. “So now it is possible to plan advertising campaigns that target the right people.”

Shiers explained that the fully GDPR-compliant GPS-based system puts a virtual cone around a vehicle, and then accesses the data of 70 million mobile phones in order to determine exactly who has seen the rolling advert. “Whereas previously we had to estimate eyeballs, now we can calculate them,” said Shiers. “For five years I have been saying that a truck is seen more times a day than a website, and nobody would believe me, but now I can prove it.” TruckAdz is aimed squarely at third-party logistics providers working in the retail and food sectors, in particular those pulling unbranded box and fridge trailers.

The Blackpool-based company already has 500 trailers on its books, only 50 of which are currently used as mobile billboards. But Shiers is confident that the introduction of AdzTracker will boost these numbers significantly, now that advertising agencies will be able to measure audience engagement. Hauliers can earn in the region of GBP1,200 per trailer per year for signing up to TruckAdz.

Adverts are fitted using the British-made TruckSkinz framework, and can be changed in just 20 minutes, so minimising downtime.

“I come from a haulage background, so know the importance of keeping the trailer wheels moving,” said Shiers.