With petrol prices skyrocketing, the chance to drive for “peanuts” is bound to have lots of appeal.
Looking to buy a new car? Hold on, there’s a much cheaper option, so long as you don’t mind getting behind the wheel of an onroad advertisement. The dealers throw in free rego, free third party insurance and free servicing. They’ll charge you $35 a week to lease the car for a minimum one year, you pay for fuel and must have your own comprehensive insurance.
The advertising guys who dreamed this up call it “an innovative mobile communication medium”. What happens is that your tiny “smart car” comes wrapped in branding, and you must agree to be tracked by GPS (satellite tracking technology) so they know how far and wide you’ve rolled out their message.
But, hey, what’s a bit of advertising when you can drive this little bubble of a car for $35 a week? The NRMA has calculated it costs about $130 a week to put a small car like a Toyota Echo on the road, not counting loan repayments. With such a great financial incentive, I was willing to give it a test drive.
I took delivery of my KahDo and gave this concept a spin for the weekend. Now, as a reporter, I’ve travelled in all sorts of vehicles – Black Hawk helicopters, the Collins Class subs – but I have to say I felt like I was living more “on the edge” driving my little smart car. And the submarine seemed more spacious.
The vehicle is virtually two doors and four wheels and that’s it. You have a sense of being VERY close to the road. It’s fun. It’s zippy. It’s great to park. And you can fill her up for $30 and that’ll last 500kms of city driving. But I wouldn’t be game to take it on country roads. I’d be worried a kangaroo or even a tumble-weed would take it out. And there’s no spot for a baby seat.
But new mums looking for comfort, space and safety are not really the market for these KahDos. The advertising team is looking for hip young city travellers in Sydney and Melbourne. They call them “word of mouth agents”. “We’re much more than a moving billboard,” says KahDo director Chris McMillan. “The drivers are our direct link with the target market and word of mouth is the most convincing form of advertising.” If you choose to take the benefit of the car, you must take the social consequences of driving the advertising message of any product they nominate. Did I feel good about promoting chocolate to kiddies? No, I have to say, especially after reading in the morning’s paper about obesity among our children.
“If you have a problem with big multinational companies, then let’s face it, you won’t be applying to drive one of our cars,” McMillan says. “But we won’t put our drivers in a compromising position. You won’t see any adult products advertised, or any political advertisements.” They’ve only had one issue so far – when a driver was faced with the tricky prospect of advertising a direct competitor to the company for which he worked. He was let off the hook.
The KahDo business (www.kahdo.com.au) was launched almost a year ago with 100 cars advertising Tooheys beer. They rewarded drivers with free cases of beer for helping push the campaign message.
“Not only are they [the drivers] saving between $6000 and $7000 a year by driving a KahDo instead of leasing a car, they are benefiting from thousands of dollars worth of bonuses,” says McMillan. “In the past year drivers have collected free mobile phones worth $700 each, tickets to music festivals and an assortment of free products.”
You have to be at least 23 (and preferably no older than 45), with a good driving record. And you have to fit their “social profile”. You must drive at least 100 kms a month. With an engine of just 600ccs you’re not going to drag anyone at the lights, but it’s a concept guaranteed to “take off”.
Kellie Connolly is a journalist/presenter with Nine News. For the complete story see Money Magazine's
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