Wednesday January 21, 2004 Tooting your firm's horn Local company has devised a free-wheeling advertising device By Andrew Blazier , Staff Writer In John Pena's world, it pays to know what commuters are reading. Not on MTA trains or buses, but while they drive. In fact, it's so important to Pena, of West Covina, and business partners Greg Barsoumian and Hector Saavedra, both of Burbank, that they've built an entire company around giving drivers what they'll read the most - freeway advertising. This month, their Irwindale- based company, Drivertise LLC, unveiled its first product, a portable billboard that attaches to the side of a car. At 2 feet by 3 feet, the polycarbonate sign holders fasten to a glass-filled nylon strap that sits on a vehicle's roof rack. They are secured by a second strap, which attaches to the inside of a wheel well. The billboards can be removed and double as a table-top display case, complete with a business card holder. The side units retail for $399. A slimmer model that fixes to a pick-up's tailgate sells for $349. The actual advertising will cost prospective clients something extra, though. Drivertise charges $29.99 to print a company's pre-made ad and as much as $120 to design an original sign. The idea sounds simple enough, but Drivertise claims to be the first to apply for a patent on the 15-pound billboards. Judging from the early response of interested businesses, the firm is gearing up for a prosperous 2004. "Every business needs to advertise,' Pena said. At the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month, for example, the company sold out of the 300 units still on pre-order from China. Those billboards won't arrive until mid-March, though, leaving the 2 1/2-year-old start- up scrambling for capital to bring in an additional 800 units as soon as it can get them. "Some people offered to buy the ones we had on display,' Barsoumian said with some amazement. Despite their confidence, it's a real awakening for Pena and his partners. Since founding Drivertise in April 2001, the trio has taken out second mortgages and a $500,000 small business loan to pay for the investment. Prior to January, they had made no sales. Pena said he had only expected to fill orders for 30 units at the Auto Show. They even put the billboards on their own vehicles, for the free publicity. "Some of our friends let us borrow their computers,' acknowledged Pena, who immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia 15 years ago. Mobile advertising isn't new, but a portable sign that can be removed or replaced adds a new twist to painted-on signage. Drivertise touts the billboards as a low-cost advertising alternative for small businesses that won't pay for major media promotions but might be willing to shell out a few hundred dollars to reach Southern California's freeways. Barsoumian said advertisers routinely pay $3,000 to $5,000 to have advertising painted on company vehicles. According to the California Department of Transportation, Angelenos make some 54 million car trips through the Los Angeles metro area every 24 hours. The region also boasts the greatest number of cars per capita in the nation. "They're willing to wait a month-and-a-half, because it's something they're going to own for a couple of years,' Pena said of the customers' early interest. "You don't even have to tell your friends, because they're going to see it on your car, no matter what.' -- Andrew Blazier can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2477, or by e-mail at andrew.blazier@sgvn.com .