FeedMyMeter.com: An Innovative Advertising Idea

Everyone hates getting parking tickets, especially when we arrive back
at our cars and still see the meter-person giving out tickets further
up the block. An innovative New Orleans-based advertising company has
come up with a devilishly simple idea: Why not feed expired meters as a
public service? In return, the motorist receives a flyer under the
car's windshield advertising one of the company's clients.

The flyers, which are standard advertising circulars that contain the
client's contact info, are only placed on cars sitting at expired
meters. The amount that is fed into each meter is also determined by
the client when they purchase their campaign: the more per meter, the
fewer cars reached but the greater good delivered in terms of parking
time.

Think about it for a minute. FeedMyMeter.com's concept is very clever.
The revenue model may or may not work -- Internet banner ads, once the
darling of the industry, are pretty much a bust these days -- but as a
high concept, it is brilliant. The only downside being that it doesn't
quite scale beyond a single city, at least not yet.

The cute trick is that the clients paying for the flyers can target
specific makes/models/locations for their campaigns. All Volvos within
the French Quarter or all BMWs parked around the Garden District (if
you don't know your New Orleans neighborhoods, the former is the major
tourist trap, the latter is a more genteel close-in suburb). The firm
will also design your flyers and state on their Web page that most of
the fee for the campaign goes towards feeding the meters.

It sounds like a scam and, while I can't completely vouch for its
authenticity (since I don't live in New Orleans), I can tell you that
according to the company's Web site:

"Most innovative ideas are questioned in the beginning. We applaud
skepticism, it's further proof of Americans' unwillingness to be
ignorant! Do keep in mind that we don't want any money from
individuals. Our purpose is to offer quality cost-effective
advertising while simultaneously helping the community."

In the meantime, if you do live in the Big Easy, check out the firm and
let me know what you think. It is just the sort of ecommerce idea that
could catch on, and could keep the meter-cops from ticketing your car
someday.