On the advertising bus As Govinder Singh says of bus advertising: “It’s really in your face!”
Driving around Cairns, she and partner Steven Capocchi often saw bus advertising and decided to divert part of their radio budget to advertise their
Totalspan business.
“These transit buses don’t work on one specific route,” explains Govinder. “So they could be 20km down the coast at Gordon Vale one day, and all the way up at Palm Cove (the beautiful beach that you will often see advertising Cairns as a destination) the next.”
The ad was easy to organize – Govinder and Steve simply contacted their local bus company, had a meeting with the rep, and then liaised with marketing to arrange their placement. With the bus travelling up to 20km north and 20km south along the coast, “there’s going to be an area of at least 40m where our ad will be seen on this bus,” says Govinder.
Safe in the surf with Totalspan
Paul and Karen Fischer from Totalspan Ipswich got involved with their kids in ‘Nippers’ – the surf club initiative that teaches children to be safe in the surf.
So involved that Paul is now Southport Nippers’ Water Safety Officer (responsible among other things for deciding where on the beach is safe for the Nippers to swim), and Totalspan sponsors the club.
“We donated 24 long sleeved Sunsafe shirts, they’re fluoro orange and highly visible with Totalspan across the back,” says Paul.
“The shirts are worn by our water safety coordinators, who are trained life savers or have a Rescue Certificate. We have a ratio of one water safety person in the water for every five children which means if someone gets into trouble there’s a rapid response.”
In this Year of the Lifesaver, and the 100th anniversary of lifesaving in Australia, the Totalspan shirts are getting a lot of wear.
“When we go to our branch or state titles, there are hundreds of competitors, plus all the families and spectators,” says Paul. “We have our water safety people in the water wearing their Sunsafe shirts and they are also walking amongst the crowd. The exposure is fantastic for Totalspan.”
Closer to home, Paul says: “there are 280-plus families in the Southport Surf Club. So they all know about Totalspan now. The kids come up to me and sing the ‘Totalspan Sam‘ song! They call me the Totalspan man.”
Karen is also very involved with the Nippers, as Age Manager for the under nines. Paul is Assistant Age Manager for the under 13’s and says he loves seeing how the children in the Nippers club gain confidence in the water and learn how to react safely in the surf. “You see the training show up time and time again, a little thing goes wrong in the water and you see kids do exactly what they’re supposed to do to be safe, and that gives me a real thrill.”
Kings of the road When Paul and Hilary Carrozza take off on holiday, they do it in style – riding on a teal-green, 2003 Harley Davidson Road King.
“It’s designed for travelling and comfort,” enthuses Hilary. “A nice big seat; big side bags for our luggage, and cruise control.”
The Griffith franchisees took their first major trip in the bike in 2005, when they and six other motor biking couples drove around Tasmania, with an overnight trip on the ‘Spirit of Tasmania’ ferry to get them there. Since then they’ve also driven to Brisbane and back, and often go away for weekends on the bike.
“A lot of our friends are also into bikes, some have Harleys, some have Hondas,” Hilary says. “We’re all similar ages and most are business owners. Our kids are old enough to leave at home for a week or so, or they’re off at Uni. So someone has an idea for a trip, and we go!
“We’ve got a trip coming up where seven couples will be driving to Canberra and down the south coast, then to Melbourne to see a show, then back through Bright which is supposed to be beautiful in autumn.
“We book our accommodation before we leave, at B&B’s, pubs or motels. There’s lots of eating and drinking of wine every night, it’s a great time!”
“I’m really keen to get to meet all the franchisees in my area and learn about their challenges and how they see themselves going forward. I want to help them be successful, to make as much money as possible while they are in the franchise.”
12-Nov-2007