More free love—now at the bar

We recently covered Australian NapkinAd, which distributes free,* ad-emblazoned napkins at food courts. Now US-based NapAd has picked up on the same theme but played it in bars and nightclubs instead. NapAd, which just launched this fall, uses what it calls high-definition napkins to bring marketers’ messages directly into the hands of urban consumers when they’re relaxed and uninterrupted by other media. The photorealistic, 5-by-5-inch cocktail napkins are distributed free to NapAd’s network of bars, nightclubs and lounges; in exchange, the venues serve them with drinks to their patrons, who can then be exposed to the messages printed on them for hours at a time. Targeting is customizable within NapAd’s network, so that if an advertiser wants to reach males aged 18 to 34 in Garden City, Kansas, for example, NapAd might tap into a network of sports bars in the area. The company is currently focusing its program on Manhattan, but it’s planning to add five more markets in 2008 and can serve areas requested by clients as well. A typical New York City campaign with 1 million NapAds starts at about USD 27,500. NapAds is part of Maryland-based guerilla marketing firm JI Worldwide, which was founded by 28-year-old Jay Jaber, a finalist in the 2007 Wall Street Journal’s Creative Leaders Challenge. The company (which also sells its napkins under the name HDN—High Definition Napkin) is now seeking distribution partnerships with major airlines, cruise ships, bars and lounges, and is also interested in hearing about other collaborative opportunities, Jaber says. It’s a big world out there—so many bars, so many patrons, so little time… 😉 Spotted by: Bill McMahon * Check out the hygienia trend briefing for more about ‘free love’ and the opportunities it creates for entrepreneurs and marketers.