A California company has come up with a unique, if not bizarre, way to make money and help homeowners buy time against foreclosure -- turn their houses into billboards. And the company's CEO says it's an opportunity coming soon to homeowners in Florida.
Advertising company Adzookie.com has unveiled its new houses-to-billboards campaign as a direct answer to the plight of folks on the edge of losing the roof over their heads. Homes advertise the company's services in return for help paying the mortgage.
Romeo Mendoza, the CEO of Adzookie.com, said the thought occurred to him when he was driving his daughter home from school one day.
I saw signs outside homes saying bank-owned and suddenly I felt for the families I imagined lived there, said Mendoza. I was trying really hard to think of ways to help then it hit me. Our company buys advertising all the time. We could buy ad space on their house and pay them for it.
In response to Mendozas idea, Adzookie.com launched an application website as they search for homeowners who are willing to have their homes turned into billboards. Applicants selected will have their houses repainted over the course of three to five days, with the exception of the roof and windows. The new paint job will advertise Adzookie.com and the company, in return, will handle mortgages payments for as long as the ad is running, from a minimum of three months to a maximum of a year.
So far, almost 250 property owners -- including 12 businesses, seven restaurants and even a church -- have applied to Adzookie.com. With Florida continuing to reel from the economic downturn, the number of foreclosed-on houses continues to grow. With one in 472 homes in the state facing an initial foreclosure filing in February alone, it comes as no surprise that 18 of those applications have come from the Sunshine State.
Mendoza stated that Adzookie.com was looking for as many homes as possible to use for advertisement purposes.
Were promoting our free local mobile ad network, so the more neighborhoods the better, said Mendoza.
Adzookie.com is a free mobile advertising company, added Mendoza. We help local businesses reach new customers by placing free advertisements where ads get noticed the most, on smart phones. Promoting our business in a way thats outrageous and fun just make sense.
Yet to weigh in on the Adzookie.com opportunity are city and county zoning departments, homeowners associations and ... folks who live across the street.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.
