Vehicle wraps put your company’s name where people are. Large format printing produces vinyl car graphics that are eye catching and attractive. Best of all, the visual effect is mobile. Travel time becomes marketing time. When calling on clients or performing a service on site, parking in a conspicuous area puts your company’s name in the view of passersby.
Vehicle wraps can completely cover all parts of the vehicle that are not the windshield or side front windows. A partial vehicle wrap can cover only the sides or only the back of the vehicle. Partial coverings serve a purpose in that they can be more colorful and engaging than nearly any painted message or magnetic sign, but the full vehicle wrap carries greater impact. Accomplished with large format printing on heavy vinyl, there is virtually no limitation on the level of color or visual design possible to achieve with vehicle wraps.
Nearly a decade ago, a business author published “The Little Guys Strike Back,” an article focusing on the tools available to small retailers that most big box retailers cannot use. Another advised on how small business can out-maneuver big chains, including the big box stores that seem to have all the advantages. Wrapping vehicles falls into that collection of tools.
Dwindling Advertising Choices
Businesses of all sizes continually seek out new places to feature company logos or present a message to current or potential customers. Newspaper circulation and readership has been declining for years, to the point that several of the nation’s former leading newspapers have ceased operation or moved to publication only online.
Television used to be attractive to businesses that could afford to advertise through that medium. When there were only a few local channels, there was a good chance that advertising buyers would be able to get their messages in front of a significant portion of the viewing audience. Cable and satellite increased channel choices by a factor of hundreds and targeted viewers were harder to find. Later, the DVR made it possible for viewers to record programs and simply fast-forward through all those commercials. The newest DVR models now don’t even record those commercials.
The same kinds of things have happened to radio. Satellite radio eliminates or greatly reduces radio advertising. Radio advertising also cannot provide the visual interest that is so important to so many people.
For a time several years ago, national brand marketers were even putting ketchup and laundry detergent logos on grocery store floors and any other surface they could find that a shopper might see.
Benefits of Vehicle Wraps
The result of all of this advertising overload is that many people simply ignore it. Much of it also is beyond the reach of small businesses. Vehicle graphics can meet the needs of businesses of any size, but they are especially attractive to small businesses with limited marketing budgets. Whether the business has a single vehicle or operates an entire fleet of cars, trucks or vans, vinyl wraps can create an advantage for the business owner. Vehicle graphics:
• Grab attention. Brightly colored, attractive vinyl wraps make any vehicle stand out from all others around it.
• Reach a larger audience. On the busy streets of Los Angeles and the surrounding area, an attention-getting vehicle wrap can be exposed to tens of thousands of people every month, even when the vehicle is parked.
• Do not intrude. Radio ads break into something the individual wants to hear and print or Internet ads can interrupt reading for work or pleasure. A vehicle wrap merely catches the attention of people.
• Are cost effective. A full vehicle wrap often costs less than a midrange, one color paint job. Most wraps can last for several years. If the business uses a $2,500 full wrap only three years but it is in the view of 100,000 people a month that is 3.6 million exposures at a per-exposure cost of only $0.007.
Tips for Good Design
Wrapping vehicles is not rare, but neither it is yet common. The benefit of the current state of this form of advertising is that it still gets the attention of motorists and passersby, meaning that it is highly effective.
The business owner needs to ensure that the company’s wrapped vehicles gain the right kind of attention, however. Unless the company’s business is graphic design or advertising, then by all means, hire a professional to design the vehicle wrap! When finished, each car, truck, van or bus will be a rolling billboard for the company. Its design absolutely must be targeted and professional.
Define the company’s primary target audience and then design primarily for that group. As example, hip-hop culture images may be appealing to the owner of a high end residential painting company, but they may do little to build confidence among the homeowners that the company wants to attract.
Make the vinyl wrap tasteful and colorful. Design may or may not benefit from including images linked to the company’s line of business, but including such images where appropriate can serve to define the business to those who see the vehicles on the road. A home improvement company may include images of generic carpentry tools, while a landscaping contractor may feature images of lush, healthy landscapes.
Use outside support. A service company with permission to use various third party logos may want to include those as well. The appearance of highly recognizable logos of the local Better Business Bureau or Angie’s List can serve to build instant trust among motorists who may not have time to truly study the entire vehicle wrap.