The Advert Man – the story so far

The Advert Man is a Derby-based SME that aims to sell advertising space on lorries and trucks. SME caught up with founder Ed Hollands to find out more…

Tell me about your company – where did the idea come from? How did you get started?

I run The Advert Man ltd; it originally started offering truck advertising on commercial trucks as they delivered all across the country or within a specific area. I have plans to develop it into offering advertising on any form of driven vehicle – cars, vans, buses etc.

The idea struck me over time whilst walking to Derby University for lectures; I had to walk along the A38 and began to notice a number of blank lorries and trailers passing me. When I visited the city centre at a later date it struck me that if I was going to advertise, I would prefer to be on trucks as it would surely be seen by a larger number of people and look better to potential customers. I just thought if my customers or a potential customer saw a large trailer with my company name on and an eye-catching image, they would think about the brand positively. It looks like my products are being delivered by the truckload all across the country and the company is doing well, building trust with the consumer – when actually, it could be anything behind the curtain!

How would you describe your business’ ideology?

That’s an interesting question, given I’m at the start of my entrepreneurial journey. I suppose the ideology that I want to create revolves around enjoyment; my clients not only enjoy working with us, but also the results our campaigns bring and I want my future employees to enjoy their work just as much.

I guess as the business grows we will have to see what happens, and what other things join the company’s ideology.

Could you tell me a bit about your product/services range?

Right now the business is focused on truck advertising, offering campaigns on trucks of all sizes across many areas, from across the whole of the UK down to particular regions or even individual towns and cities – from fully-wrapped vehicles right down to just the rear doors.