25 Apr Vehicle Wraps and Vehicle Graphics: Businesses…Start Your Engines!
History of Vehicle Wraps
Vehicle wraps are not new, but they are gaining in popularity for businesses looking to increase brand awareness and lead generation, particularly in their own communities. Even in the early day of auto racing, race car manufacturers knew the power of advertising on a moving vehicle watched by thousands of spectators. When race driving became a popular TV sports event, sponsorship exploded.
Now, race cars advertise not only the car manufacturer, auto parts or oil, but are also emblazoned with everything from Canon cameras to GoDaddy web hosting ads.
The first bus wraps were made by SuperGraphics, a U.S. company, back in in 1993 to advertise Crystal Pepsi. It didn’t take long for other companies to see the value of these eye-catching rolling ads. Nowadays, you’d be hard pressed to find a bus without some kind of large-scale graphic. They advertise shops, concerts, plays, and other special events. The reality is, if vehicle wraps and graphics didn’t work, we’d be back to barren metal bus shells that advertise nothing but the grime that splatters up from the roadway.
Do Vehicle Wraps Work as Advertising?
Certainly, without any doubt, vehicle wraps increase brand awareness and lead generation. Why? They are out there, all the time…and are not limited to a one-time ad panel or radio slot. Vehicle ads have longevity. They are as permanent as the lifetime of your car or truck, but can be changed as your brand and your products and services evolve.
Try this test. Try naming a few vehicle ads that you’ve seen in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland. Here are a few that jump to mind: Nerds on Site, Molly Maid, Geek Squad, Nurse Next Door, Dog Taxi, Men in Kilts gardening and many more). If you drive, or spend time on the city streets, you’ll have your own list. Most people don’t have to think too hard to remember at least one vehicle wrap. Why does vehicle advertising work? If your company spends time on the road throughout your community, having a vehicle wrap is like having a billboard everywhere at once. You are noticed downtown, in the burbs, in neighbours, parked on the street, everywhere you go, your vehicle ad is there. Vehicle ad graphics create a sense of ubiquity. Your company is everywhere. Your advertising has presence that isn’t dependent on finding your website or seeing a print ad or Yellow Pages listing online. With those forms of advertising, you are dependent on consumers finding you. With vehicle wraps, you go to the consumer in all corners of your community.
Companies that use vehicle wraps, like those named in the test above, understand that being highly visible is the name of the game in brand visibility and lead generation. These companies are on the road, so why drive a generic, non-descript vehicle when you can drive an ad?
Vehicles Wraps are Cost Effective Advertising
Traditional advertising is a one-time game. You pay your money, your ad runs for a set period, with a set number of impressions or broadcasts. The ad has a lifespan, then dies and fades away. Furthermore, ads in radio, TV and print depend on that medium’s audience. If you run an ad in a magazine or newspaper, your audience is limited to those readers. Same with TV: your ad is there for couch surfers who happen to be watching that channel at that time. If they aren’t watching, they don’t see it. If they don’t like your ad they mute the volume or grab the remote and change channels. With vehicle wraps, your advertising is “on the air” all the time. You meet your audience at their doorstep, or, bumper or sidewalk, but you meet them, everywhere, anywhere, rain, shine, year-round. Vehicles ads have wheels, literally.
Compared to the tens of thousands of dollars companies spend per year on ads that reach a very limited audience, vehicle wraps are a huge cost savings while in many cases being more effective for companies that serve local communities. Depending on the area of the vehicle covered by the wrap and the complexity of graphics, vehicle wraps can cost $1000-$5000. These ads pay for themselves. Compare this cost to a Yellow Pages print ad or their similar online advertising schemes (which can run into thousands per month), it’s easy to see the value in a vehicle wrap.
Why a Vehicle Wrap Might Work for You
- You have a limited budget for local advertising but want to increase awareness of your brand and local lead generation.
- You drive a company vehicle to and from appointments fairly regularly or park your vehicle in high traffic areas.
- You own a fleet of vehicles that are currently non-descript yet the vehicles drive regularly throughout your community.
- You own a franchise and you want to increase brand awareness but wide-audience or national TV spots are too costly.
- You are paying thousands per month for other forms of advertising that have little effect on revenue. You are there because you think you should be.
- You like the idea of paying for a vehicle wrap once and having your ad “on” for as long as you are driving.
Why You Shouldn’t Own a Vehicle Wrap
- You don’t own a business, arts organization or band.
- You or your employees don’t drive.
- You drive, but prefer to walk in the excitement that only a sidewalk of scattering pedestrians can offer.
- You’ve recently been a contestant on “Canada’s Worst Driver”.
If you are curious about a vehicle wrap or graphic for your Vancouver business’s cars, trucks or vans, we’d be happy to answer your questions. Contact Sandbox Signs for a free vehicle wrap cost estimate.