10 Feb Car Signage & Graphics are the Most Cost Effective Type of Advertising for Vancouver Businesses
Car signage and graphics may be the most cost-effective and impactful form of advertising available to business owners. For a modest investment, a vehicle with signage advertises your services or products for as long as you operate the vehicle. Whether you’re driving in Greater Vancouver or parked on a busy street, a car, truck or fleet vehicle with signage or graphics will be seen by thousands of people each day!
Car Signage Costs vs. Other Advertising Costs
Compared to other forms of advertising, car signage and car graphics are much more affordable.
Car Signage & Car Graphics
- One-time cost.
- Advertises your business for as long as the vehicle is operational.
- Seen by hundreds of potential customers daily.
- Potential customers are a captive audience, seeing your car signage as they drive or walk.
Pay Per Click Ads (Google, Social Media)
- Costs hundreds to thousands per month.
- Often results in many clicks (and high cost) but few leads or sales conversions.
- Competition is fierce. Many competitors will bid on the same keywords as you. Competitors with bigger budgets can outbid you and sink your ad visibility.
- Many people ignore online ads.
Print Ads
Print advertising is a costly option.
- Costs hundreds for a small ad in local newspapers, and tens of thousands for ads in national magazines or trade magazines that have wide distribution.
- Print ads are only successful if your potential customers are part of the readership.
- Billboards and bus shelter ads are out of reach for most small business owners. A billboard can cost tens of thousands per month for a billboard placed in a high-traffic area.
TV or Radio Commercials
Both TV and radio commercials are out of reach for many small businesses.
- TV ads can cost over $100,000 for a 30-second spot on a national network.
- Radio ads can cost thousands per week depending on the size of the radio audience. In Vancouver, a typical 30-second radio ad costs about $2000 per week.
- For TV and radio ads to be effective, they must be run frequently for several weeks or even months.
Types of Car Signage and Graphics
- Magnetic vinyl signs.
- Static cling signs and graphics.
- Vinyl letter and decals.
- Partial vehicle wraps.
- Full vehicle wraps.
View our car signage and graphics gallery.
Car Signage Design Basics
Whether you opt for simple signs or full vehicle wraps, car graphics should follow basic signage design principles:
- Your company logo and company name should be prominent.
- Include phone number, email address, and website URL.
- Ensure that contact information is large enough to read at a distance.
- Fonts for your main service or product should be large enough to read at a distance.
- Use bulleted lists sparingly. One list with 4 or 5 list items is often enough. Drivers or pedestrians should be able to pick out the important information easily.
- If there are too many competing elements, all emphasis is lost.
- Ensure there is good contrast between background graphics and fonts.
Car signage can be simple. Notice how the design elements don’t compete for attention. The curvilinear shapes of the background don’t distract. The strongest, most noticeable graphics are the company name and phone number. Both can easily be seen by motorists and pedestrians at a distance.
This work van is a good example of well balanced car signage graphic design. The company name and phone number immediately get your attention because they are larger than the fonts used for the bulleted list and website URL. Company name, URL, and phone number are visible on the sides and back of the vehicle.
Adera terraced apartments opted for an evocative, eye catching full vehicle wrap. The word “GREEN” is most prominent because it is an important market differentiator. The website URL is larger than the phone number in this case, because the company wants people to visit their website.
Receive a Free Consultation and Estimate for Car Signage
Sandbox Signs + Graphics has been creating car graphics for Vancouver area companies since 1994. Whether you need simple vinyl-cut lettering, a full vehicle wrap, or something in between, we can help! Contact us for a free consultation or receive a free quote for car signage.