New Franchisees Ian Brown and Jesus Espinoza to Open the First-Ever Runningboards Marketing Franchise in Paducah, Kentucky

Runningboards Marketing was founded in 2018 in Watertown, New York with the idea of providing local businesses with a unique and catchy way to advertise their offerings. The brand accomplished this by utilizing digital advertising vehicle DAV (pronounced “Dave”). Thanks to his high-impact LED screens that display brand messaging and customizable graphics, customers can hire DAV to drive around designated market areas to target specific audiences.

Whether customers want DAV to advertise their business, give loved ones a birthday shoutout or simply put out messages of support to the community, DAV is more than ready to handle the job.

The digital mobile concept caught fire. In early 2019, Runningboards Marketing scored major regional recognition by winning the Greater Watertown North Country Chamber of Commerce’s “Emerging Business of the Year Award.”

Today, Runningboards Marketing is about to enjoy another major victory: New franchisees and longtime friends Ian Brown and Jesus Espinoza will open the brand’s first franchise in July in their community of Paducah, Kentucky, which is located about halfway between St. Louis, Missouri and Nashville, Tennessee.

The two 23-year-olds first learned about Runningboards Marketing through a franchise consultant. They initially thought about purchasing a restaurant franchise, but they realized the demands of that industry were more than they wanted to take on. The more they learned about Runningboards Marketing and its low cost of entry and simple business model, the more they were attracted to the opportunity.

Add the fact that a Runningboards Marketing franchise does not require a brick-and-mortar space and has minimal staffing requirements , and what the two fireballs saw was the perfect recipe for their first business.

“All we need is the van,” Espinoza said. “If we want to we can keep the business down to just the two of us until we really start expanding.”

The two budding entrepreneurs are confident that Runningboards Marketing will be received well in the Paducah community and provide a much-needed technology-based solution for local businesses .

“Paducah is behind in terms of tech — we just got DoorDash,” Espinoza said. “We realized we would be the first type of this kind of business in the whole Western Kentucky area. If you look around, even though Paducah is growing rapidly, there aren’t that many technology-forward businesses. We don’t really have Uber or Lyft here. With that aspect of technology, we are excited to be one of the first. Bringing this kind of tech to Paducah, that can benefit the economy around here.”

Brown and Espinoza are also eager to build relationships within their community to help improve the local economy overall. This idea was reinforced by the Runningboards Marketing leadership team on discovery day.

“It’s important to us to support businesses who are down now with something affordable but effective as far as price comparisons for alternative advertising,” Brown said. “We provide a whole different level of opportunity than a standard billboard or even a digital billboard, as DAV is mobile. We can help businesses expand at a time when that kind of support is needed most, given the current climate.”

The Runningboards Marketing leadership team is thrilled these two go-getters opted to bring the franchise to their community.

“We’re excited that our franchise will be Ian and Jesus’ first business, and we can’t wait to see them get started and support them as they mature professionally,” President Calvin McNeely said. “They’ll also be in a location similar in size to Watertown, so they’ll benefit from the knowledge the leadership team has acquired in our home market over the past two years.”

This new franchise also proves the viability of the Runningboards Marketing business opportunity in any economic climate .

“Our brand is built for social distancing, and since we do not require a brick-and-mortar location, franchisees don’t need to worry about paying rent,” McNeely said. “Their biggest priority is to build relationships with businesses in their communities and use DAV to help those businesses grow and reach existing and prospective customers. These are all desirable traits in owning a business, especially during COVID-19.”

Thanks to its simple business model, low cost of entry and straight-up fun concept, Runningboards Marketing will ensure it continues to attract bright and eager franchisees like Brown and Espinoza across the U.S.