Before the collegiate degree in public relations, the high school marketing club, or even the middle school economics lessons, I was a young child who was taking in a variety of brand messages without understanding how much it was impacting me. I’ll always remember the Shane Company radio ads (“Now you have a friend in the diamond business…”), the Gushers TV commercials (did those kids’ heads actually turn into grapes?), and the got milk? billboards. However, one of the most effective ways that I was marketed to as a child was through vehicle wraps.
Summer road trips for my family consisted of a mix of listening to my dad’s questionable choice in rock music, trying to get my siblings to scoot over and stop touching me, and a lot of staring out of the window. Ignorant to signs at the time, I always thought these were painted graphics on cars, and was amazed by the detail. Now, as a member of the sign industry, I have an equal amount of respect for the detail that goes into both designing and installing these vehicle graphics. And young kids stuck on long road trips aren’t the only ones paying attention.
The Facts:
As traffic is on the rise on US roadways, so too is the potential to reach prospective customers through vehicle wraps. Studies suggest that the average American travels over 40 miles per day. With transit advertising growing in popularity, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America projected that one vehicle wrap can generate between 30,000 and 70,000 impressions daily. And to think, I just spent $25 on a Facebook campaign that only got me 1,000 impressions. With this large of an audience, it’s easy to see why businesses of all sizes are investing in vehicle graphics to help push their brand and messaging.
The Costs:
Alright, alright: let’s get to the nitty gritty. I understand as well as anyone that marketing-related decisions almost always need to vibe with the budget, which makes it of absolute importance that the ROI on an investment like a car wrap is high. One of the most difficult questions to answer, though, is “what will it cost to wrap my car?” Between all of the various factors (size of car, amount of car being covered by graphics, type of material, design, etc.) the expense of putting graphics on your vehicle can range from anywhere between $50 and $10,000. Yeah, quite the range. We’ve done small cut graphics on company cars that fell near the lower end of that spectrum, as well as full wraps on large city buses that almost eclipsed the high end of that range. For the sake of analyzing what the value is, let’s use the high end of that spectrum.
Let’s say your vehicle wrap lasts 5 years and you spent $10,000 on it. Big expense, I get it. But based off our stats, with about 30,000 impressions per day on average, your vehicle wrap will receive just shy of 55 million impressions over the course of its life. That equates to $0.0002 per impression. Think about it.
The Action:
In order to take advantage of the marketing benefits of wrapping your vehicle with brand-related graphics, its recommended that you get in touch with a reputable sign company with a history of designing and installing vehicle wraps. For receiving a quote on a vehicle wrap, or beginning the design process, the following information is of importance to your sign company:
- Make of Vehicle
- Model of Vehicle
- Vehicle Year
- Vehicle Color
- High Res Photos of Vehicle
- High Quality Vector Artwork (for logo)
- Desired Text to Include in the Design
Identify a budget that works for your team, and your sign company will be able to come up with ideas that fit your comfort level. Though a logo is likely the most important messaging to put on your vehicle design, don’t forget the importance of a call to action (even if its as simple as your phone number or website).
A captive audience of impressionable future clients is awaiting your new car on the road… don’t miss the chance to draw them in with a stunning new vehicle wrap!
Written by: Office Sign Company Marketing Team
Contact at: marketing@officesigncompany.com
www.officesigncompany.com
