Fresh off the heels of MakeSpace's $8 million funding round, longtime storage company Manhattan Mini Storage has launched an aggressive advertising campaign seemingly directed at MakeSpace.
MakeSpace, an on-demand storage startup, launched in New York last September to offer people "cloud" storage for their physical items.
MakeSpace picks up your stuff, and creates a visual catalog of what you stored so that you can easily order it back with a few clicks.
MakeSpace's service is significantly cheaper than Manhattan Mini Storage, for example. MakeSpace charges $25 a month to store four boxes worth of items. Manhattan Mini Storage, on the other hand, costs at least $70 per month.
Now, Manhattan Mini Storage seems to be digging at the company's brand identity (green) and slogan with a cautionary rebuttal: "Don't trust the cloud."
It's not clear exactly how much Manhattan Mini Storage paid for its campaign, but typical billboard ads in New York cost between $20,000 and $50,000 a month. Even though the billboard doesn't mention MakeSpace by name, MakeSpace CEO Sam Rosen tells Business Insider that he thinks it's "clearly tied to the splash [MakeSpace] is making."
Manhattan Mini Storage is most definitely aware of MakeSpace. For example, Manhattan Mini Storage isn't happy that MakeSpace mentions it in its FAQ, Rosen says. But it's within MakeSpace's right to make a fair comparison to its competitors.
MakeSpace also mentions Public Storage in its FAQ. Back in March, Public Storage took a jab at MakeSpace with an ad featuring a couple confused by the idea of "cloud storage."
Today, Business Insider spotted MakeSpace in Manhattan's Union Square neighborhood. Though, Rosen says MakeSpace already had this strategy up its sleeves. He insists that this is not in reaction to Manhattan Mini Storage's billboards.
