Welcome to Media in Focus where we regularly highlight a media opportunity by asking the owner/founder how they started their business, the features and benefits of their advertising offer and how they manage their advertising sales process.

Through Media in Focus we are also able to showcase innovative Aussie entrepeneurs – NapkinAd is a great example of a business started to solve a problem noticed by it’s founder and now provides advertisers with an ambient and geo-targeted opportunity to reach their audience......

Your name: Emmanuel Kastanias
Name of Your business/Media Platform: NapkinAd – Napkin Advertising
Target Market: CBD (office) workers nation-wide
Launched: 5 December 2005
Staff: 5

To appear as a Media in Focus please contact us

See NapkinAd's listing in the MediaScope directory

Can you give us some information about NapkinAd?

NapkinAd prints billboard advertising directly onto luncheon napkins.  We operate in the CBD’s of Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.
NapkinAd provides advertisers with a miniature billboard that everyone needs.  Our demographic of hard to reach office workers allows us to place your message directly into the hands of this financially strong consumer for an extended period of time.

Tell us how & why NapkinAd started?

After 18 months as a disillusioned accountant straight out of university, I had the idea of napkin advertising one day while eating lunch.  I was looking at my napkin for 15 minutes and thought if someone placed an ad on this napkin, it is quite a powerful way for an advertiser to speak directly to one individual.  After much research and market testing, I went to China and bought a napkin machine — the rest is history!

We now manufacture and distribute through our national network over 4 million napkins monthly with advertisers including Wrigley’s Extra, Harvey Norman, Mortgage Choice and Foxtel.

Can you outline NapkinAd’s current market position and your forward plans?

We currently operate across 90% of CBD food malls in capital cities.  Due to manufacturing our own napkins, no competitor to date has been able to match our market reach.

Our next phase of growth, which we have started, is advertising across shopping centre food malls (more regional/suburban reach).

What benefits do you offer advertisers?

Exclusivity in locations – your napkins are solely stocked in the food outlet for the duration of the campaign.

Accountability – a signed delivery schedule is received to confirm napkins delivered plus location photos.

Campaigns to suit any budget - Entry level campaign starts at $850 (plus GST) for 50,000 custom printed napkins and includes artwork, productions and distribution through our network over 4 weeks.

Our rate is calculated at $40 (plus GST) per week per shop — and we have a network of 400 shops that you can advertise in.  A shop averages 2,750 people each week.

2 Week time to market – from time artwork signed off and subject to availability.

What is the best & worst thing about being an independent media owner?

As customers become harder to reach, NapkinAd offers a new, direct and innovative way to deliver their message directly to consumers.
We offer our customers an opportunity to think outside the square with their advertising and directly engage with a hard to reach consumer.

As with all businesses, finding good staff is the biggest challenge  (especially when you have a manufacturing arm to your business). At the moment we have a great team, but it was hard to build!

Tell us about your advertising sales structure? (who sells your ads, your sales team, client base etc)

We deal both with agencies, plus do a lot of networking which draws a lot of mid sized firms disillusioned with their current marketing spend.

At the moment we have an 80% advertiser retention rate, and with most mid sided firms, referral work has been quite strong.

We try and keep agencies consistently up to date with our completed campaigns, new products and markets.

What are some things you have learned when dealing with advertisers?

As with all businesses, customer service is a priority.  We know what works on a napkin and we advise quite strongly on artwork which we feel will not work well with our medium.  Advertisers appreciate this and know we do all we can to promote their business.

What (if any) changes, updates or improvements would you like to make in the media trading and advertising market?

I dislike the fact that a lot of media does not reflect their market value (and the value to advertisers) and like a carpet bazaar the same media can be 75% reduced some months!

I feel our rate card is equitable and as a result we do not have to discount.

What is some advice you would offer to anyone starting a new commercial media business?

Cold calling is one of the hardest thing you will do.  Write a script, be confident in your product, and practice.  Cold calling is essential to getting the meeting at will land you your first job.

Networking is also an important skill, and through 6 degrees it allows turns a cold call into a warm one!

Where do you get your advertising and marketing information from?

B&T, Adnews

Other Pages of Interest:

See NapkinAd's MediaScope directory listing

See other Media In Focus Profiles

To appear in Media In Focus please contact us