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Health & Fitness

What's the most cost effective form of advertising your local business?

Vehicle Wraps!


According to Arbitron, (Arbitron is a marketing research firm serving the radio, television & advertising industry) the cost per thousand ad impressions for a vehicle wrap is about $0.35. 

 Consider the comparable costs for:

(per thousand impressions or views)

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  • Billboards and other outdoor signage - $3.56
  • Radio - $7.75
  • Prime Time TV - $18.15
  • Newspaper - $19.70
  • Magazine - $21.46
  • TV - $23.70

 

Now let's do some math:  10,000 impressions from your vehicle wrap are going to cost you a whopping $3.50, compared to $237 for a television ad. Fifty thousand impressions created from your vehicle wrap would be up to $17.60 compared to $985,000 for newspaper advertising delivering the same number.

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And if you have 5 vehicles in your fleet generating an average of 50,000 impressions per vehicle EACH, those 250,000 impressions would cost you only $87.50 using mobile advertising compared to $5,365 for a magazine ad generating the same number of impressions! 

 

Besides the cost effectiveness, vehicle wraps are just cool, interesting, fresh and very apt to get people talking about your company.  The American Trucking Association reported that 91% of people surveyed said they notice vehicle graphics on the highways.  And when you consider that a vehicle wrap can’t be “fast forwarded” or “muted” it truly is a great advertising investment.

In case you’re not already convinced, here are a few more bullet points to make the case –


  • Vehicle advertising is proven to be the most effective and efficient form of outdoor advertising.

 

  • Reaches more consumers at a lower Cost Per Thousand than ALL other forms of outdoor advertising.

 

  • Vehicle marketing reaches nearly 85% of people in all income levels

 

  • Wraps are ideal for promoting your company brand, products, services, or events.

 

  • One vehicle wrap can generate between 10,000-80,000 impressions daily.

 

  • Fleet vehicle advertising boosts name recognition 15 times greater than other advertising media.

 

  • The opportunity to reach commuters on highways, city streets, and parking lots.

 

  • Powerful visual messages can target consumers of all ages and ethnic groups.

 

  • Reach audiences of all ages, gender, backgrounds, income, and professions.

 

  • Reach high amounts of pedestrian traffic.

 

  • Mobile flexibility allows you to position your vehicle ad almost anywhere you want.

 

  • Mobile advertising reaches consumers not exposed to newspaper and television.

 

  • Every traffic jam becomes a marketing opportunity.

 

 Rules of a good vehicle wrap

 

Rule #1: Start with a Great Brand

One reason that so many wraps fail from a marketing perspective is because the business has a poor brand identity and logo. The brand should always be the primary message for a vehicle wrap, unless you have national brand recognition. For small businesses trying to make an impact in their community, the message is always about the brand. Starting with a poor brand means you've failed before you've begun, by wasting money on a wrap and missing a huge marketing opportunity.

 

Rule #2: Don’t Use Photos as the main element of the design

A photo is not a brand identity; it’s just a product. It doesn't connect me with the business name. Maybe it connects me with what the company does, but so should a good brand logo.

Here's an example, a contractor with a picture of an air conditioner on the side of his van. Great. Now I know you do air conditioning, but who are you? I don’t know, because I only have 2.5 seconds to view the message. Or consider the contractor and the picture of a house. Great. A house. But are you a siding company, a roofing company, a window installer, a landscaper or an electrician? I have no idea, since the photo is the dominant element that's what the viewer focuses on, I don't have time to search out the small details. After my 2.5 seconds are up, your message is lost with all the other things trying to grab my attention.

 

Rule #3: Limit Your Advertising Copy

There’s only 3 or 4 things a good wrap needs: strong brand implementation, and perhaps tagline messaging, a web address, and a phone number. Bullet lists, which look more like shopping lists, have no place on a vehicle. This isn't the yellow pages. Would you rather list 10 things and have none remembered, or convey one to two memorable takeaways? If this truck were a billboard, how much copy would be on it? Billboards have the exact same challenges as vehicle advertising. If you prioritize your copy, it will be more effective. In general, the hierarchy should always be: BRAND, TAGLINE, WEB and/or PHONE NUMBER

 

Rule #4: Design to Stand Out, Not Fit In

This isn't the part where I say diamond plate, carbon fiber and tribal flames will make your truck wrap stand out. Quite the opposite. By eliminating all those fills, noisy backgrounds, photos, bevels, and glows, you’ll be on your way to designing a wrap which actually stands out. The wrap market is littered with visual noise. When we see something with impact — something that we can actually read and remember — it can’t help but stand out among the visual clutter. (That doesn't mean the design needs to be boring, just done right)

 

Rule #5: Simple and Obvious is Good

 If the viewer needs to work too hard to figure out the primary brand messaging, it’s an opportunity lost. The medium isn't the same as print design, where the viewer can stop, absorb the advertising and try and understand the message. Consider that one, primary takeaway you’re hoping to leave with the viewer. What is it? And does the wrap effectively communicate it? Is it lost in the imagery? Distance legibility is a primary concern. You have very limited time to capture the viewer’s attention and have your brand and message be understood and remembered.

Check out a Mitsubishi rally car being fully wrapped in our shop: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_siVykw6PT0

  -Damian

Have a vehicle you'd like wrapped or just want to find out how to get more customers in your door? Give us a call.

Unlimited Signs

www.unltdsigns.com

203.546.7267

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