New Mercedes-Benz Atego is a Clear winner
Entrepreneur Chris Hocken is boxing clever with his new venture – an eye-catching, mobile promotional space mounted on a Mercedes-Benz Atego chassis.
He has just launched The Clear Idea in exclusive partnership with Mercedes-Benz UK and hopes to have one vehicle based in each of five major cities by the end of his first year in business.
“The Clear Idea is a new, innovative and exclusive concept designed and engineered to promote products and services via a transparent mobile box,” explained Wiltshire-based Chris, who has previously provided consultancy support for a host of high-profile events including London Fashion Weekend and Soccer Aid.
“This unique, ground-breaking marketing approach gives clients the opportunity to put a product at the heart of their target market at peak times. We’re about getting the best displays in the best locations in a highly visible and memorable manner, employing a concept that allows three-dimensional products to be viewed from all angles.”
The ‘glass box’ on the back of the 12-tonne Atego 1224 was in fact manufactured in Europe from clear polycarbonate. This advanced composite material is very strong and the surfaces have also been hard-coated to make them abrasion-resistant. The vehicle also boasts audio functionality, and Chris has secured intellectual property protection for his concept.
The first product to be showcased by The Clear Idea was an awesome Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG super sports car. The truck and its achingly desirable cargo spent a couple of days outside the manufacturer’s UK headquarters in Milton Keynes before setting off for the Truckfest showground in Peterborough, where it proved a smash-hit attraction, drawing big crowds and prompting plenty of enthusiastic comment.
The Clear Idea operates from Bugley Barton, near Warminster. Its first truck arrived via Rygor Commercials while the transparent box body was assembled and mounted by the dealer’s close neighbour on the West Wilts Trading Estate in Westbury, Atech Coachbuilders.
The Mercedes-Benz Atego is the current International Truck of the Year and The Clear Idea’s vehicle is one of the first from the recently revised model range to hit Britain’s roads. As well as wearing a purposeful new grille and other external features, it benefits from a string of interior enhancements that have increased comfort, safety and driveability.
Like all Atego trucks with manual transmissions, the truck also came fitted with the innovative MSS (Motor Stop Start) system. This boosts fuel economy and cuts emissions, simply by switching off the engine whenever the vehicle is in neutral and stationary for three seconds – for example in heavy traffic or at lights – then switching it back on again automatically as soon as the driver depresses the clutch.
Chris continued: “I’m delighted that Mercedes-Benz has – literally – come on board. As well as being the world’s largest truck manufacturer it is an iconic brand, and one with which the potential clients to whom I’m pitching will certainly want to be associated.
“There’s already been a lot of interest in our new venture from the UK and I’ve also had a series of enquiries from European companies, which is encouraging as the Continent represents a huge potential market as we take the business forward.”
And he added: “So much marketing and advertising is generic and unimaginative – we all drive past billboard posters and see ads in our papers every day, but how many of us actually notice them? The Clear Idea is flexible enough to be used for static, electronic or ‘live’ displays so can be employed across a multitude of different campaigns. Our goal is to provide clients with a new and effective marketing tool that will enhance their image and, ultimately, their return on advertising ‘spend’.”
Sam Whittaker, Truck Sales & Marketing Director for Mercedes-Benz UK, said: “Chris delivered an impressive presentation and this innovative business is clearly going somewhere. We wish him the very best of luck with his exciting new venture.”
For more information, visit theclearidea.com.
