Efficacy of Vehicle Wraps

Given the stiff competition, companies are constantly searching for innovative ways to sell their businesses. Most of them utilize online platforms to promote services and products, but as the advertising landscape continues to expand, new marketing technologies are being introduced.

Vehicle wrapping, a relatively new innovation in the outdoor advertising industry, is one of the most effective and powerful marketing platforms today. Vehicle wraps are sheets of adhesive vinyl applied on the surface oftrucks, vans, buses, cars, and othervehicles with the purpose of changing their appearance. The wraps come in several colors, textures, and finishes, and can also be printed with designs including graphics, photos, logos, and other branding elements.

Several years ago, billboards were originally the standard outdoor advertising platform. These large, flat panels were strategically situated in heavy-traffic areas for maximum visibility, resulting in increased brand awareness. Unfortunately, today, people have gotten so accustomed to seeing billboards daily that they hardly ever take a second glance.

In the beginning of the 1990s,vehicle wraps suddenly went viral, and began to revolutionize the outdoor advertising industry, increasing the popularity of fleet graphics design and mobile advertising.A full-size bus was wrapped with advanced vinyl adhesive product to promote the “Crystal Pepsi” brand. Many people were amazed as they have neverseen a large vehiclebranded in such a creative way.A rapid increase in the demand for vehicle wrapping soon followed as people, who were so used to seeing plain billboards,noticedthe vibrant new addition to the highways. From 1993 to 2003 alone, the size of the industry nearly doubled – from $1.2 billion to $2.1 billion. Today, vehicle wraps are considered to be among the most successful and cost-effective forms of outdoor media.

This powerful new marketing tool started being adopted by several companies, as more and more people saw its efficacy in creating good impressions. According to thestudies conducted by market researchers and industry analysts, people are more attracted withmobile media such as fleet graphics and vehicle wraps,thanwithtraditional outdoor advertising, such as posters and billboards. Brands that appear on vehicle wraps are said to be 15 times likelier to berememberedcompared toother formsoutdoor advertising. Moreover, 92 percent of the study’s respondents claim to actually read the copy on fleet graphics, while 30 percent make buying decisions based on mobile advertisements on vehicles. This implies that vehicle wraps are highly effective in catching people’s attention, and thus increasingbrand awareness, and boosting the number ofsales leads.

In addition to those previously mentioned, here are other advantages of using vehicle wraps:

  • Creative

Vehicle wraps allow you to customize your cars for an entirely new look that will make them stand out among other commercial vehicles on the street. What’s great about this is that whether you choose to go for a full wrap or a partial wrap, you will always have control over the outcome of your car.Vehicle wrap experts are also there to provide assistance in generating creative and strategic designs that will effectively highlight your brand.The more people you impress, the more benefit for your business.

Several researches have alreadyproven how significantly better vehicle wraps are compared with other outdoor media forms in creating positive impressions. In a study conducted by The American Trucking Association:

  • 98% of respondents thought the fleet wraps created a positive brand image of the advertiser
  • 96% noticed ads on vehicles
  • 97% recalled what the ad on the vehicle was about
  • 96% said that truck wraps were more effective than billboards
  • Local targeting

Vehicles can be equipped with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) tracking systems, which provides detailed tracking information and, sometimes, audited reports that can be used for tracking the effectiveness of your mobile advertising campaigns. This allows you to strategically plan your next marketing strategy. You can ask yourself: Which areas are we not reaching, and how will we penetrate that market?

Driving and parking a wrapped vehicle around a busy urban setting can immensely increase brand recognition among residents.By simply doing this,you can alreadycatch the attention of people, and increase your sales in a short period of time.

  • Brand awareness

It is important for every businessto make concentrated efforts to present their products and services in the best possible light. Recent studies show that 96 percent of Americans travel for over 300 miles weekly, either as a driver, passenger, or commuter, so by nature, they areconsidered to bea goodtarget market. With vehicle wraps, you are given the advantage of exposing your business to the hundreds and thousands of people on the road every day. Not only do you increase your business’s popularity, you also reach a bigger market and generate new sales leads. According to the Outdoor Advertising Association (OSAAA), vehicle wraps can produce as much as 30,000 to 70,000 impressions a day, hence making it an effective branding and marketing tool.

  • Cost-effective

With the low cost-per-thousand-impressions and high return on investment, vehicle wraps are considered to be the most cost-effective and influential advertising tool available to businesses.A three-month study conducted by 3M in San Francisco shows that fleet graphics only has a $0.48 cost per thousand impressions, while other forms of outdoor advertising cost $3.56 per thousand impressions.

For example, an advertisement in the yellow pages costs up to $15,000 a year for a display ad. Aside from the relatively expensive cost, the yellow pages only reach a limited market since lesser and lesser people read it nowadays. There is also the fact thatyour competitors might also be there in the pages. With vehicle wraps, there are no continuous or additional costs aside from regular maintenance, which is still so much cheaper.

Another example isa billboard. Although it costs about the same as a car wrap, your billboard will only last for a month, while your car wraps can last for up to six years. With the one-time expense of a vehicle wrap,your business can have a “movablebillboard” creating endless number of impressions per advertising dollar.

 

Ultimately, vehicle wraps are powerful, dynamic, cost-effective assets to a business’s marketing plans. They are so effective because, unlike with other outdoor advertisements such as billboards, tarpaulins, posters, and the like,they are not unconsciously ignored. People already know where billboards are situated, while on the other hand, vehicle advertising can just unexpectedly appear anywhere. This spontaneity catches people by surprise, and demands more of their attention.Vehicle wraps continue to grow in popularity as more and more businesses realize its potential to reach, impress, and target customers.Surely, it won’t be long until the vehicle advertising industry booms in the market.

 

Sources:

http://www.signindustry.com/vinyl/articles/2014-11-01-JL-Benefits_Of_A_Vinyl_Vehicle_Wrap.php3

http://www.infinitegraphics.net/independent-vehicle-wrap-study/

http://www.marketingtango.com/how-vehicle-wraps-rev-up-small-business-marketing/

http://zerogravitymarketing.com/car-wrap-advertising/

http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/media/511642O/fleet-and-vehicle-graphics-guide.pdf