A new spin on mobile advertising

Shawn Fitzwater coasted up to a corner coffee shop one summer morning riding atop his newest business investment: a 21-gear bicycle. Its speed settings represented a significant upgrade from the single-gear bike he used to ride, and it has made towing the wagon attached to his bike's frame a bit less taxing. 

The swap has enabled Fitzwater, a longtime Homewood resident, to maximize his efficiency in a unique form of mobile advertising, Spokesman Cycle Ads LLC. 

Since late April, Fitzwater has dedicated his weekends to pulling an A-shaped carrier atop his wagon, housing a pair of 5-foot-by-3-foot advertisements. He sells that space to advertisers and totes the cargo around his client's target area, whether in Homewood or downtown Birmingham. 

 “It’s something new and unique to the area that nobody’s seen here before,” said Fitzwater, outfitted in a neon golf shirt donning the name of his venture. “It’s very eye-catching. People look at it.”

Fitzwater's interpretation of mobile advertising differs from the norm, as the term is employed frequently to describe digital ads that reach people via smartphones.

Fitzwater said Spokesman is the first bicycle advertisement company to pop up in the Birmingham area, though similar businesses are scattered throughout the country. He even drew on the advice of one like-minded entrepreneur from New York last September when he began to develop his idea. 

Fitzwater, a land surveyor by day, had long been looking for an opportunity to broaden his professional horizon. That led him to explore a few business possibilities, including a cycling pub he hoped to plant with a few buddies downtown. But for one reason or another — often due to projected costs — the ideas failed to gain traction. 

Spokesman broke that trend. The venture required minimal overhead, and it resolved one of Fitzwater's persistent issues. With a full-time job and a family, the cycling enthusiast had little time to hop in the saddle. 

“I thought, ‘Well, why not put my bike to work for me?’ That way I could ride my bike and get paid for it at the same time,” Fitzwater said.

Fitzwater built the ad carrier himself, with the help of his dad, and embarked on his first commercial ride April 29.

Fitzwater towed the ad-carrying wagon nearly 85 miles behind his bike his first weekend in business. He wound down his area-wide trek that Sunday afternoon at the Slow Your Roll community bike ride, which he helped start in 2015.

“I was beat,” he said. 

Fitzwater breaks his weekend advertising slots into three intervals of three hours on Saturdays and Sundays, running from 8 to 11 a.m., 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 5 p.m. He said he covers around 15 miles during each shift and determines his route based on client request. Recently, he added a feature that enables the advertiser to live track his path via GPS.

To find out more information about Spokesman, visit spokesmancycleads.com or call 427-4639.