They’re singin’
in the rain

By Eric Herr
For the Times

Great ideas, more often than not, come out of the blue when you least expect it.
So it was for onetime Fairmount bartender Joe Carlson, who on countless occasions would see customers enter the establishment where he worked, umbrella in hand, only to forget it on their way out the door.
On the other hand, there would be folks who’d walk in without an umbrella in the first place. They would sometimes leave just as a storm was passing through and end up getting soaked.
"It’s so easy to run out the door without it or put your umbrella under your seat at a restaurant, in the coat-check room or maybe in a corner and simply forget to take it with you," Carlson explained. "So it dawned on me that this was the perfect opportunity to start an umbrella-sharing business."
It wasn’t long before he and longtime friend Karen Rostmeyer, recently laid off from her computer programming job, joined forces to form what has become the Dutch Umbrella Co., a subsidiary of the LeoLee Corp.
The innovative business, which has headquarters in the Fairmount section of the city, is modeled after a bicycle-sharing concept in Holland (hence the catchy name). In essence, it is a complete sharing and mobile advertising system.
Here’s how it works: For a $150 monthly fee (plus setup), merchants can have their logos embossed on any one of eight umbrella panels. Each participating business also agrees to provide space for a receptacle called a "RainDrop," which holds roughly a dozen or so of the company’s white umbrellas.
Rather than get drenched at the onset of a sudden storm, a customer can simply borrow a Dutch Umbrella from the RainDrop and return it at any time, either to that receptacle or to the RainDrop of another participating business. Generally, businesses with walk-in clientele, such as restaurants, hair salons, florists, novelty shops and the like, tend to be the best candidates for this business concept.
So businesses pay a fee to advertise on the umbrellas. And the public has free use of an umbrella, giving that ad message visibility as they roam the rain-soaked city streets.
"Let’s face it," says Rostmeyer, "nobody likes carrying an umbrella. So when you’re going out for a big night on the town, or for any other reason, the best thing to do is grab a Dutch Umbrella, because you know you’ll be able to drop it off someplace and not have to worry about losing it."
This unusual business start-up, launched by the duo in April, is starting to generate some publicity buzz. At the moment, a half-dozen merchants in the Fairmount region have signed on with Dutch Umbrella, but Carlson and Rostmeyer also envision the concept eventually catching on across the city.
Given their enthusiasm and their seemingly endless stream of marketing ideas and promotional strategies, they’re confident that rainy days can deliver a bright future for their venture.
"Sure, the convenience factor is great," says Carlson. "But we’re taking the age-old borrowing concept to a whole new level."
For example, he explained, attached to the handle of every Dutch Umbrella is a Motorola radio frequency identification tag, or RFID. This high-tech tag allows a Dutch Umbrella employee to periodically visit RainDrop sites and collect valuable data. Thanks to a sophisticated hand-held reader and special software package, the staffer can compile important information about where various umbrellas have traveled.
"Every tag is numbered, which allows us to track various pick-up and drop-off points," explained Carlson. "Knowing where someone picks up and drops off an umbrella helps our clients to get a real sense of where their customer base is. More importantly, by analyzing this information, we can help them to better evaluate where and how to target future promotional and advertising efforts."
All the high-tech mumbo-jumbo, customer profiling and number-crunching aside, the bottom line for these Philadelphia entrepreneurs is to just have fun.
To that end, they have created a colorful, very animated and interactive Web site — www.dutchumbrella.com — that enables anyone to find participating vendor locations complete with maps, plus a short but informative description of the business. It also enables merchants to decide whether they’d like to jump on the umbrella bandwagon as a vehicle for their ad dollar.
In the works are all kinds of cross-promotional plans that will be integrated through expanded Web site offerings, such as giveaways, contests, games and more. Also being developed is a character named Dutch (you’re surprised?) and others who will take on various roles within the context of the Web site and elsewhere.
"There’s even a Dutch Umbrella song," said Carlson, spontaneously crooning some of the lyrics: "You’re a fine fella to grab a Dutch Umbrella, guaranteed to keep you dry."
The song and lyrics, he noted, were brainstormed by a group of guys who regularly hang out at The Bishop’s Collar, a Fairmount Avenue tavern and ardent Dutch Umbrella sponsor.
"Our business has a unique and very personal aspect to it in so many ways," Rostmeyer says, "and as we expand, we hope that everyone who takes part in the Dutch Umbrella experience not only has a lot of fun but also becomes an active character in our story." ••
For more information, call 215-232-3558.