[Rear View] Bug Busters adds Cadillac ambulance to it marketing arsenal

Bug Busters adds Cadillac ambulance to its marketing arsenal
A lasting image from the hit 1984 movie “Ghostbusters” was the famed ghost-fighting crew hopping into their customized caddie ambulance in pursuit of ghosts.

In that same year Neil Parker opened his pest control business in Acworth, Ga. — and named it Bug Busters. To complete the “Buster” theme, Parker had been looking for a Cadillac ambulance for a number of years. About a year ago, Parker purchased a 1972 “Caddie” ambulance that he spotted while bicycling in upstate New York.

During the past year Bug Busters has been customizing the vehicle, which they renamed the Bug Mobile. Neil’s son Court Parker, the company’s COO, says the Bug Mobile is a “work in progress” and that by this time next year the plan is to have the vehicle equipped with: a flat screen TV installed in the back to show DVDs and commercials (both company videos and those from industry suppliers); a large gas grill that slides off a stretcher for tailgating; and a large ant eating through the roof. All of these planned added amenities, of course, serve a purpose. Court Parker says Bug Busters plans to use the Bug Mobile for home shows, conventions, parades and for school functions (e.g, reading to classes, football games, etc.) in all of its service areas, which includes Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama and North and South Carolina.

So far, the Bug Mobile has been displayed at a few events, including a chili cookoff. The vehicle’s sirens and lights are still functioning and Court says they’ll turn them on upon entering a show or whenever they want to capture people’s attention. When not at shows, the Bug Mobile has been parked in front of the Bug Busters corporate office in Acworth, where Court says it definitely has made an impression. “People love it,” he says. “Our office is right off a major highway. People will stop so that their kids can get out and take a look at it.”

An important part of the Caddie’s transformation was a paint job in the company’s signature yellow, which Bug Busters has been using the last seven years. In addition to its service vehicles, all of Bug Busters’s marketing materials are yellow, including, brochures, fly swatters, golf balls, golf tees, golf towels, business cards, cozies, pens, pencils, sunscreen packets, etc. “I’ve been stuck in traffic on a five-lane highway and I’ve spotted our trucks — they really stand out,” Court says.

This marketing approach, in part, has fueled Bug Busters’s growth. In fact, Bug Busters does not even advertise in the Yellow Pages. The company has grown from a one-person operation in 1984 to a company with 53 employees, servicing five states, offering residential and commercial pest control and termite services. — Brad Harbison